And so the Garden in my Heart Blossoms
by MargaritaDaemonelix
Summary: The blooming peach blossoms are meant to symbolize love anew. To her, they are just flowers. To him, they are a painful reminder of a past life. /三生三世 AU.
1. Part 1: Of Lua

AND SO THE GARDEN IN MY HEART BLOSSOMS

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 1: Of Lua

 _In your first life, you were a warrior._

 _In your second life, you were a healer._

 _In your third life, you are a queen._

 _In all three, you are a lover, doomed to heartbreak._

* * *

Peach blossoms drift lazily through the sky as Rena makes her way through the garden. Petals line the ground upon which she treads, like a silken carpet before her.

A single petal lands on her flowing robes, and she raises a hand to brush it off. Another hand reaches the errant petal before hers, though. "They are beautiful flowers, are they not?" Raven asks, letting it drop out of his fingers and float to the ground below.

"They are," Rena responds, no emotion in her voice. Only cold, cold regret.

Raven's expression does not change from its usual storminess, but there is a smile in his eyes. "You know, the blossoming of the peach trees is said to hail in love anew," he says.

And in the same lifeless tone, Rena responds.

"I know."

* * *

 _In this lifetime, you are Rena Erindel, a goddess of the high heavens and the graceful queen of Elysion, the home of the gods. Though you are nearing one hundred and fifty thousand years of age, you carry the power of youth and dignity upon your shoulders._

 _Unlike the mortals of the earth below, your court is magnificent and grandiose. The great gardens which you had planted several millennia ago still bear fruit year round in your eternal gardens, with certain beautiful flowers blooming at different times of the year._

 _But they say a queen cannot blossom without a king, no matter how fair and powerful she may be, and so the heavenly assembly longed to find you a king, someone to carry you through the darkest nights and embody your ideals if and when you cannot._

 _So the heavenly king chose Valak, his only son and the crown prince of Elianode, and though you were betrothed, the engagement has only been broken since. Valak came to love Amelia, your lively, kind handmaiden. While you wholeheartedly approved of their relationship, the heavenly king did not - his son was cast from favour, and the hand in marriage of his next son was promised to you._

 _And now, fifty thousand years later, you are not the betrothed of the now Second Prince Valak, but Crown Prince Raven of Elrianode, who is a hundred thousand years your junior. Even your meetings with him have been brief, and not the many that a future husband and wife should have._

 _You cannot say you love him. It would be lying to yourself to say that. And yet he reminds you so painfully much of someone you once loved._

 _You miss Edan. It's been too long._

* * *

Rena hardly leaves her own abode in Elysion, even though there's a whole world outside. Her little home - not much more than a furnished cove in the mountainside - is warm and homey, although sometimes lonely.

The few times she does venture out of the cove, it's due to something incredibly important. The last time, it was because Grandmother Branwen had summoned her to perform a healing rite on a dying mortal. This time, it's because Grandmother Branwen is getting old, and someone from the Erindel family needs to be present at the birthday celebrations of Lord Denif's year-old son.

As she travels through the skies, her beautiful robes melt away to be replaced by simple ones. Green and gold trim on pure white fabric turn to ashen human fabric, in a faded green with silken black sashes. She sweeps a hand over her luxurious headdress, and it fades to smoke as a simple black ribbon wraps itself through her hair.

Anyone in the high heavens can recognize Rena, but a minor goddess with no real power will receive no real attention. She visits the Water Sanctum in Elianode not as Rena, but as some nameless, faceless goddess who has just enough power to not be a mortal.

Her arrival, as such, is uneventful. No one even bats an eye as she hurries into the dark palace, the candles still unlit so that the celebrations may come as a surprise to the young prince.

Around her, servants and maids rush around, each with their own voice carrying them through the day. Gossip floats through the palace, only a small fraction of it reaching her ears.

 _"I heard that some foreign princess is coming to beg for Crown Prince Raven's hand in marriage!"_

 _"That's ridiculous, everyone knows he's been promised to Queen Rena for the past fifty thousand years."_

 _"He's still not over his deceased mortal wife, you know. They say his young child is their demigod child!"_

Rena inhales sharply, holding her breath until the servants pass by. Standing up, she squints into the darkness, looking for an exit, or perhaps a corridor to some garden in the back. Maybe if she-

"Lady Rena, is that you?"

The happy, lilting voice puts a smile on Rena's face. "Amelia," she says warmly, "you look absolutely splendid!"

And she does - Amelia glows with joy, even in the darkness of the palace. A chain of magnolias have been plaited into her hair, like a waterfall of petals. Though her flowing dress covers it up well, it's obvious that the son she and Valak have been wanting since their marriage is going to be born soon.

"Lady Rena, it really has been too long," Amelia says happily, reaching to embrace Rena softly. "I'm due in a month! You must come visit us after the baby is born."

"Have you picked out a name for him yet?" Rena asks, letting her fingertips linger on Amelia's belly for a moment. Her power flows from her fingertips through the fabric, infusing the child with good fortune and a happy life.

"I don't know." Amelia giggles. "Valak wants to name the baby after my father, but I think I want something more... Natural feeling."

"Whatever you decide on, I think will be great," Rena concludes. "Do you want some help getting back to the party?"

Amelia's eyes widen. "Oh, I think I'll be alright," she says. "Don't get yourself too lost in this large palace, alright?"

"I'll try." Rena offers her a soft smile. "If you need me, just call my name and I'll be there."

They exchange a few words of parting, but then Amelia's lively glow fades, and Rena is left alone in the darkness of the palace again. She sighs and begins to walk, going through whichever passage she finds. When servants draw near, she turns the other way, ducking into empty rooms for a bit before re-emerging.

Eventually, she comes to what seems like a small garden. A small waterfall cascades off a pile of rocks into a pond, and at that pond's edge is kneeling a small girl. Her sleeves are rolled up but they are sopping wet, and she has both her hands in the water, grabbing at the koi fish inside when they come nearby.

Children have always intrigued Rena. When her bones have turned to ashes and her soul has faded from existence, the children of today will be the pantheon of tomorrow. She smiles as she kneels next to the little girl by the pond. "What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for fishies," the young girl chatters. "Father says that fishies are good luck!"

"That's lovely." Rena looks around. "Where is your father, sweetie? Shouldn't he be looking for you?"

"He is!" The girl beams. "He told me to play here while he talks to Mister Denif." She plunges her hands back into the water, sending up a splash of water that rolls off Rena's skirt. "So I'm gonna catch him a fishie!"

"Rienne, what are you up to now?"

The girl suddenly perks up, turning to run into her father's arms, chattering about fish and dragonflies. He smiles kindly and rolls down her sleeves, drying them simply with a flick of his hand.

"That's nice, Rienne," he says, and Rena realizes with silent horror that this is her fiancé, crown prince Raven, and Rienne must be his daughter from his marriage with the mortal woman. "Did you say thank you to the fishies for letting you play with them?"

Rienne's eyes widen. "Not yet!" She scampers off to the pond, landing with a splash at its edge as she thanks the fish in earnest.

Raven's gaze follows his daughter fondly, a smile gracing his sullen features for a moment before his gaze lands on Rena. His eyes go wide.

"... Seris?"

It's such a foreign name that Rena blinks in confusion for a moment, and Raven recoils. "I think you have the wrong person," Rena says softly, swiping her hand in front of herself and lifting the simplifying glamour. "I'm your fiancée. Rena."

Raven composes himself swiftly, and puts a smile on his face again. "I hope Rienne hasn't been any trouble," he says, bowing lightly.

"None at all," she assures him, before turning to the young girl. "Sweetie, are you done saying goodbye to fishies? We're going to miss the party."

"Just a moment!" Rienne stands up in the water, having waded halfway out, and triumphantly raises a wriggling koi fish into the air. "I caught one!" She shows it to Rena, grinning brightly. "You have some good fortune, too!"

Rena freezes for just a heartbeat before smiling and gently pushing Rienne's hands back down. "Thank you, Rienne, but please remember that when you pick up the fishie out of the water, it can't breathe."

"Oh!" Rienne lets go of the tormented koi fish, and it splashes back into the water below. "Now it can! Bye bye, fishie."

Raven coughs. "Rienne, come out of the water. Your skirt is all wet." As he kneels down to dry her skirt with his magic, Rena leaves her perch at the water's edge to join him. "Thank you, Rena."

Rienne looks at her with curious eyes, shining and wide but unable to speak out loud. "Rienne, this is Rena," Raven explains, uncurling a wrinkled ribbon and drying it out between his fingers. "She is my fiancée. I told you we'd get to see her today, remember?"

Rena does her best to smile. "Hullo, sweetheart," she says softly. "I suppose you'll be joining me in Elysion soon."

"Can I call you mother?" Rienne blurts, full of nervous energy. Rena's jaw drops, and she turns to face Raven. His expression is stormy, almost looking hurt.

"I... Guess you can, if you so wish," Rena says, nodding. "Well, you're all dried up now, so let's head back to the celebrations."

"Do you need help getting back?" Raven asks, helping her to her feet. "I know the palace is rather large, and it's easy to get lost in."

"That would be wonderful." Rena pauses for a moment, thinking about what to say. "Thank you."

A little hand skims past hers, and she realizes that Rienne - her future stepdaughter! - wants to hold her hand. She bites the inside of her cheek, smiles, and lets Rienne wrap her tiny fingers around her hand.

 _This can't be all that bad,_ she reasons to herself. _Rienne would be a lovely daughter to have around, and Raven... Is clearly still not over his human wife._

Her heart wrenches. _Not that I'm over Edan, either._

She stays quiet, though, and lets Rienne's little hand lead her to the party.

* * *

 _In your first life, your mother and father seek out a martial arts teacher for you, for no queen goddess of Elysion should be defenceless on her own. Your mother casts a spell over you, and so in your first life, you are not Rena but Lua, a name that was once borne by your sister and best friend._

 _The mentor they pick for you is Edan. He lives in seclusion on a mountain in the north, and the students he trains must come to him for training. He welcomes you to his cave with arms wide open, and teaches you to build up your fighting skills from the ground up._

 _However, Edan is not your first love, not by a long shot. That honour, if it is any, goes to Ran, one of the princes of the demon stronghold._

 _You wish you hadn't fallen for him. It had only lead to destruction for everyone._

* * *

"Lua?"

That voice and that name. Rena flinches and draws Rienne closer to herself, holding her hand a little tighter. _Don't let go, and don't speak,_ she silently pleads to the little girl. "Ran," she says out loud, regal and commanding. "What a surprise it is to see you here."

He still carries that aura of arrogance from a hundred thousand years ago, and somehow Rena is not surprised to see that his battle scars are covered up with a well-woven spell. "Lua, do you know how long I've been looking for you?" He asks, almost wails. " _Seventy thousand years_ , Lua."

"Don't call me that," Rena snaps. "I'm not Lua. Lua was dead long before I pretended to be her, and she deserved much better than to be remembered as your lover. Don't slander her name."

"Then who are you?" Ran begs. "Are you not still the lovely wind sprite I fell in love with a hundred thousand years ago?"

Rena squeezes Rienne's hand, and the young girl nods and runs to hide behind a nearby tree. "Ran, let me make it very clear," she says slowly. " _You_ were the one who abandoned me for Chloe. I understand that the two of you are happy together. So stop trying to bring me back into your life." She's only vaguely aware of the fact that her hair is starting to blow around her face, her skirts billowing in a created wind.

"I am not Lua," she says, "nor am I a wind sprite. I am Rena Erindel, the queen goddess of Elysion, and I will smite you down if you attempt to meddle with my affairs ever again."

Her final words are the most striking.

"Leave me and my future alone."

The wind dies down, and Rena turns around to find Rienne sitting behind the tree, her hands over her ears. "Rienne, sweetie, let's go home," she says, scooping her up and running for her home.

Ran stays behind and howls for her, but she does not heed him.

* * *

 _Chloe is one of your far-off cousins, but she is blessed with the amazing skill to cover herself with realistic glamours. She asks for permission to borrow your features, and you grant it to her and allow her to become you._

 _That was your first mistake. Your meetings with Ran become sparse, and soon the demon stronghold announces the marriage of its prince to Chloe, a young wind goddess from Elysion._

 _You're beyond angered, if anything, but Edan reminds you that your training must continue, and so you immerse yourself back into training. You become the star student of Edan's disciples, and soon whispers begin to circulate amongst the students that you've been receiving extra training, that Edan favours you above the others._

 _The truth of the matter is that you've just forgotten everything else. Training is your only escape, after all, and by training, you forget that you loved Ran, forget Chloe's betrayal._

 _It comes back to bite you, and it is your second mistake._

 _Chloe comes back to the mountain covered in wounds one day, and like the forgiving fool that you are, you immediately treat her wounds and listen to her cries. Ran has abandoned her for one of his concubines, she laments, and she has been cast from the demon stronghold._

 _You treat her with nothing but kindness, accepting her into your cove once more, and she repays you by stealing into the inner chambers one day, releasing the demon god Sult from his confining bell._

 _The sheer force of Sult's escape creates a cataclysm, shaking the roots of the mountain. You and Edan and all the disciples take up arms to stop him, and you barely just have the training to seal him back into the divine vessel._

 _But at the end of it, Edan lies on the ground, blood flowing freely from his wounds like a waterfall of sparkling rubies. "Don't go," you manage to choke out to him._

 _He closes his eyes. "Someday, I'll come back and tell you the truth, so wait for me."_

 _And those are the last words he speaks before his soul leaves his body and dissolves into starlight in your hands._

* * *

"Is it because I thought you were a wind sprite? Or was it because I married Chloe?"

Rena sighs, pulling her white shawl over herself. "I told you to get out of my life, Ran. Can't you follow orders for once?"

"Yes, but I need to know," the demon prince pleads, practically tugging on her heels. "Are you already married? Is that why you won't come back?"

"Not married, but engaged," Rena mutters. "Look, Ran, I do not intend to become one of your playthings. The Lua you knew - the one who was willing to do so - doesn't exist. Do not assume that I am willing to return to you."

"Then who is it?" Ran stands up straight, grabbing her shoulders firmly. "Rena, who is the man in your life that has taken my spot?"

"First of all, that spot was never yours to begin with," she snaps, brushing him off with a shrug. "My trust in you died when you hurt Chloe, and my respect for the both of you died when you killed Edan!"

Ran looks stunned, and Rena feels smug for a moment before he opens his mouth and speaks again. "So you're still not over him? Even after a hundred thousand years, even though you're engaged to the crown prince of Elianode?" He laughs. "Didn't think you were that kind of person, Rena."

"Mother! I found you!"

Rena instantly whirls around to intercept Rienne's tiny body barrelling into her. "Rienne, sweetie, where's your father?" She asks, picking up the young girl.

Raven has to jog a short distance to catch up to his daughter. "Hullo, Rena," he says, taking Rienne out of her arms. "Who's this?"

"King Ran of the Asmodean Demon Stronghold," Ran says. "I'm an old friend of Rena's."

She smiles wryly. "Maybe not friends," she says. "Acquaintances, really, from a long, long time ago."

Turning around, she puts a hand behind Raven's back and steers him away. "Goodbye, Ran," she says out loud, keeping her head up high. "And may you live happily with Chloe forevermore."

* * *

"Did he hurt you?" Raven asks quietly afterwards, when they're safely back in Rena's own home and watching Rienne play in the garden. Rena had a koi pond built when she found out that Rienne and Raven were moving in with her, if only temporarily.

"He didn't." She rolls her shoulders lightly, the fabric rippling over her arms. "Although he did grab my shoulders to try and make a statement. It wasn't a big deal."

Raven studies her curiously. "Not a big deal," he murmurs.

For a while, the only sound in the garden is Rienne splashing in the pond. Then Raven leans over, lightning fast, and presses a quick kiss to her lips. "Was that not a big deal, too?" He asks quietly.

Rena is silent, and Raven takes it as a cue to get up and scoop Rienne out of the pond to dry her off. He speaks softly as he smooths out her dress, massaging the wrinkles out as he chastises her for trying to step on the koi fish again.

From the little sun chair, Rena raises her fingers to her lips in surprise.

* * *

Raven brings not only Rienne to Elysion but also his father's advisor, who is now his advisor. Owen is arrogant to a fault, but has the talent to back him up, and the credentials to prove it. He constantly brags about how good his eyesight is, which is a little hurtful to Rena since he knows how hers falters. He hates having to wait on people, especially from Rena and Rienne, but he gets the work done nonetheless.

"Uncle Owen is boring," Rienne says when Rena asks her about him, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "He never lets me play in the pond."

Owen makes it very clear from day one that he doesn't take orders from anyone but Raven. "I never took orders from Prince Raven's mortal wife, either," he says. "Why should you be any different?"

Rena simply tolerates his presence in her home, mostly because he does the laundry and helps with small things that she can't see well. Her eyesight fails her sometimes when she's cooking, and so after small cuts begin to line Rena's fingers, Raven orders Owen to help her cut food.

Raven wraps her fingers in bandages himself, turning Rena's hand over to ensure that he hasn't missed any. "I'll apply ointment to them every few hours, so that they don't leave scars," he promises, and follows through with that promise every day until the cuts heal.

(Rena doesn't have the heart to tell him about the huge scar over her chest.)

The other person to join their household is Aisha, the bookish goddess who serves as Rienne's tutor. She slips up and accidentally calls Rena "Lady Seris" on at least three occasions before correcting herself, but Rena loves talking to her nonetheless. They descend to the world below to shop for the newest mortal fashions, and Rena watches her companion choke up when she dons a pale green robe.

"It's just... You look so much like Lady Seris," Aisha explains afterwards. "Like Prince Raven's mortal wife. It's like the two of you are the same person."

"Do you think... I cause him pain?" Rena asks. "Because I remind him of her?"

Aisha studies her closely.

"No," she finally says. "I don't think you do."

* * *

 _After Edan passes on, you act immediately. His soul is gone, probably shattered across the cosmos, but his body is still in your hands. As long as his body remains intact, you might be able to save him._

 _It may take thousands of years for his soul to accumulate back in his body, though, so you must be able to preserve it until then. An amount of Moon El will keep him suspended in eternal sleep, or at least until his soul can heal._

 _The only issue is that the Moon El is in the hands of the demon empire. Elysion holds control over Earth El and Wind El, the magic of healing. Ruben is home to users of powerful Fire El, which promotes both destruction and regrowth. Elianode has access to Water El and Sun El, which allow it to guide the weather of the mortal world below._

 _However, there's no way you can access the Moon El if you're just sitting in your lonely mountain. You march into the demon stronghold, and demand the Moon El straight from Ran himself._

 _"I don't have any at the moment," he says smugly. "You might be better off asking Queen Luciela. She likes to save her human playthings after she's through with them."_

 _You leave the demon palace in a huff of anger, barely even paying attention when Chloe tries to follow you afterwards. "Rena, I have the Moon El," she says, over and over, pressing the smooth stone into your hand._

 _"Why do you have this?" You demand, clenching it in your fist. "Did Queen Luciela give this to you?"_

 _She shakes her head. "No. Ran did. He wanted me to recover from the wounds I inflicted upon myself when I returned to your mountain."_

 _"Then keep it," you spit at her, forcing it back into her hands. "What a mistake I've made to trust you."_

 _Instead of using the Moon El, you tap into the healing forces within your own blood. You are a crown goddess of Elysion, after all, borne of the Wind and Earth El. Inside your lonely cave, you lay Edan's body on an ornate bed. Every day, you sit at his bedside, open your robes and plunge a knife into your chest, so you might bleed out your life to save him._

 _Days go by, and though you grow weaker and weaker, Edan does not get stronger. His form is starting to deteriorate, even though his wounds have closed and his breathing is steady. He lives in a soulless, dreamless sleep, from which he will not awaken until his soul returns._

 _Your mother visits you on the seventh day. "Rena, you can't do this," she insists, and suddenly you are no longer Lua but Rena once more. "You're going to kill yourself doing this."_

 _"I can't let Edan die, Mother," you beg of her. "Please. Let me do this."_

 _So your brave, beautiful mother, Queen Lilia Erindel of Elysion, kneels down beside you and offers her godly powers of life, honed over a million years. At the end of it, Edan looks peaceful, but both you and your mother are weakened. "Never again, Rena," she says, voice faltering. "If you do this every time you lose someone you love, you're going to kill yourself before you can even become the queen."_

 _Sometimes, you wish you'd saved Edan yourself, and much more often than not, you wish you'd died in the process._

* * *

Sometimes, they get visitors in the afternoons, when Rienne has just finished her lessons in calligraphy and Owen has set out tea. The most frequent of these visitors are Elesis and Elsword, Rena's cousins from Ruben. They bring candied apples, and after Rienne requests it, maple syrup candies from the finest maple trees in Ruben.

Elesis is loud and energizing, having devoted her life to the fighting arts. Her laughter is contagious and crackles like flames. She, too, was one of Edan's disciples when Chloe unleashed Sult upon the mountainous abode. Now, she is the _de facto_ leader of his school, teaching his ways to the students.

Her younger brother Elsword, on the other hand, is a symbol of peace. He trained under his sister for several millennia before entering the service of Lady Harnier, the queen of the cosmos. "Father and Mother may be scions of Elianode," he says, of Lord Solace and Lady Harnier, "but they are Rubenians by birth, and so are Elsa and I."

And Rena does see bits of the great Lady and her husband in their children. Elesis, despite clearly being a child of fire, radiates life every bit as much as she do. Elsword's red eyes flicker to a bright blue when he talks about something he's excited for (mostly food). They stop by sometimes, give Rienne her candy, steal a sip of tea, butt heads with Aisha or tell bad jokes.

The other frequent visitor is Rena's niece on her father's side. Ara is the current first-in-line to the throne of Elysion, though she seems to not care at all for her claim to the throne. She's good friends with both Aisha and Elesis, and sometimes spouts wisdom far beyond her years.

"Do we truly remember the truth?" She asks you, one particularly sunny day. "Does the truth not change over time? Can we really rely on the past to see the future?" And then, looking straight at you: "Your past might be much more complicated than you might remember."

Rena is almost too scared to ask her what she means, so she smiles, changes the topic to something brighter (Rienne's latest calligraphy work) and offers her more tea.

Unlike Rena, who channels the power of wind, Ara is a child of earth. She is a _jiuweihu_ , a nine-tailed fox, and the only pure white one in the heavens. In the form of the divine spirit Eun, Ara channels all the goodness of the earth and heavens.

She's of a marriageable age, and although suitors come from far and wide, she has rejected them all so far. "It's not because of their rank, or anything," Ara insists, blushing. "It's just... There's someone else I'm interested in, although I'm not sure if it's allowed..."

"Are they way out of your league?" Rena teases, poking her in the side. Ara squirms to the touch - she really is too ticklish.

"He really is, way, way out of my league," Ara replies, and that's how that conversation ends, bluntly. Rienne's little feet come pattering over, and then both Rena and Ara are tied up with cleaning up her sticky little face in the aftermath of an entire candied apple.

Once upon a time, Rena's quiet little home in the mountainside was lonely. But that time has passed, and now, it's bustling with life.

Rena supposes it's not so bad.

* * *

Rienne's birthday rolls by, and Raven suggests that they take the form of humans and travel down to the mortal world below, to experience the culture.

It's a bittersweet notion. Rena knows Rienne's biological mother, Raven's first wife, was mortal, so perhaps it's to allow Rienne to stay in touch with her mortal roots before she grows up and becomes a great goddess of the heavens. She's currently second in line to the throne of Elysion, only second to Ara and her potential children, and Rena supposes Raven wants his daughter to retain that little bit of her heritage.

That doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy her time in the mortal world. Rena brushes on her simplifying glamour again, watching as Raven dons a similar spell that turns several strands of his hair white. "Humans age so much faster than us," he explains. "A mortal man with a daughter of Rienne's age would likely be shrivelling with age already."

Rienne herself wears a snowy white gown embroidered with mauve plum blossoms, with little highlights applied in splashes of gold thread the same colour as her eyes. "Mother, have you eaten human delicacies before?" She asks excitedly, bouncing up and down in Raven's arms as Rena walks beside her. "There are flowers made with crispy sugar!"

Rena smiles. "I have yet to try it," she says. "But today is your birthday, little one, so let's buy some for us all."

They find a tiny stall in a brightly-coloured market that sells sugar flowers, each delicately drizzled over a thin bamboo stick. Rena opens her coin pouch and extracts three gold coins, each shimmering with immortal energy. The shopkeeper trembles as she drops them in his hand, not daring to look up into her face.

Each with a sugar flower in hand, Rena and Raven lead Rienne further into the market. The flower smells like caramel, and when Rena nibbles a single corner off curiously, it tastes like caramel too. Quickly, her mind spins a recipe for the treat, hoping to make it for Rienne when they return to the heavens.

Raven simply walks along, one hand on Rienne's shoulder and the skewer held in the other. "Are you not going to eat your flower?" Rena asks.

He shakes his head. "I'm not the fondest of sweets," he admits.

Rena grins. "Great. Then give it to Rienne. It's her birthday."

Rienne has, in fact, eaten her entire piece of sugar, and now reaches expectantly for her father's.

And, as expected, Raven sighs, smiles, and places his flower into her waiting hand.

Rena just laughs.

* * *

Smoke fills the kitchen, but Rena is not afraid. She puffs her cheeks out, wills the winds to flow to her, and lets the fumes dissipate out.

She might not be afraid, but others are.

"Rena! I've got a bucket of water, I-" Raven rushes to a stop in the kitchen, the water sloshing out of his bucket and onto the tiles below. "Oh."

"It's just a bit of caramel," she says nonchalantly. "I was thinking about the candies we bought on Rienne's birthday. If mere mortals can make things that make Rienne so happy, then why shouldn't I be able to make even better things?"

She swirls the thick caramel around in her pan, before blowing out the fire in the hearth. "Could you please pass that tray?" She asks.

Raven sets the bucket on the ground and grabs the tray of arranged skewers, holding it out as Rena drizzles the hot caramel over in flower-like patterns. "You must be very good at cooking," he comments.

"I enjoy doing it, I suppose." Rena flicks the pan upwards, finishing the line of caramel she'd been drawing. "Rienne tells me you're quite talented yourself, too."

"Ah." Raven goes red a little bit. "Her mother taught me to cook. Well, really, it was just me helping her cook, and I just picked it up along the way. Similar to what we're doing now." He smiles. "Now I'll know how to make these flowers for her, too."

They settle into a busy silence, pouring the flowers and grabbing new trays. "How old was Rienne when her mother passed?" Rena asks. "Too young to remember?"

"Barely a week old," Raven confirms, and sighs. "I... Never mind."

He doesn't explain, and Rena doesn't press into it.

* * *

 **A/N: wow i hate it when my tiny mortal body loses its life juice and i have to balk out of school to curl up around my stuffed animals and cry**

 **this fic is plot-wise based off the chinese novel-turned-drama _三生三世十里桃花_ , aka. _Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms._ the drama is called _Eternal Love_ in english. please watch it if you're not afraid of terrible CGI**

 **but realistically i had to cut out a few minor arcs and characters since a) i ran out of elsword characters to call upon and b) i would have to tap into the pillow book, which i have not read**

 **it is highly recommended that you listen to the ending theme of the drama while reading this. it's called** ** _凉凉,_ please go find it on youtube and listen it's such a pretty song**

 **~Marg**


	2. Part 2: Of Families

AND SO THE GARDEN IN MY HEART BLOSSOMS

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 2: Of Families

In the nether hours of the morning, Rena hears voices.

"I wish you'd remember," says the voice, mournful and pleading. "I wish you'd remember. I wish you'd remember."

The tone changes. "No, I don't. I wish you'd never remember us." There's a sound like a shuffle, and then Rena feels the whisper of a breath on her forehead - the kiss of an angel. "When will you wake up, Rena?"

She wakes up in the morning, in her own bed, but the voices are gone.

* * *

Rena realizes something is terribly wrong when she draws the curtains and the window is open.

"Rienne?" She asks out loud. "Raven?"

Raven is out, she reasons. He often leaves the house in the morning to take a walk and compose his thoughts. He'll probably be out for a while - Rena checks the clock to see the hour hand at eight, which means he won't be back for an hour.

But the fact that Rienne hasn't responded is worrying. Rena closes her eyes and sends her magic out, probing through the house, and doesn't find her little form.

What's even more alarming is that the inner sanctum that Rena designed herself is open, and when she sends her magic in, the ethereal signature of her most precious treasure is gone, to be replaced by one that feels all too similar to her own.

Fury lights up in Rena's heart as she probes the house again, finding more and more demonic magic lingering in the crevices. "Chloe," she seethes, cutting off her magic. "How could I have been so blind?"

She raises her arm, and in her hand manifests her weapon of choice - an elegant recurve bow, strung by the finest magic thread that only appears at her fingers' command. "To the demon stronghold," she tells the winds, and they bring her there in all her rage.

No one stops her as she marches into Chloe's tower, throwing open doors and tossing tables aside in her rage. "What have you done with my daughter?" She yells, snarls. "And what have you done to my Edan?"

"He was never yours to begin with," Chloe's voice cackles from a higher story. "And neither was the girl. She'll make a pretty bride for my son, once I give him the form he needs."

Rena knows that Chloe's punishment for releasing Sult was that her children would never have living bodies, only functioning souls. _She's going to put her demonic spawn in Edan's body,_ she realizes in horror. Gripping her bow tighter, she summons the winds around her and throws herself into battle against the demon tower.

A demon soldier runs at her, but she whirls around, throwing a spirit of the wind in their way and sending them flying. All around her, the environment is hostile, the drapery glazed in gold and rich purple unlike the clean white and greens of Elysion. She grabs for a door handle, misses, and instead flicks her hand out to shatter the wood of the door with a blast of wind.

A gasp escapes her lips as she looks into the room. Edan's body is lying prone on a bed, surrounded by clerics and spirits of the Moon El. Fragments of the soul of Chloe's son float above him, waiting to become integrated with the body that rightfully belongs to Edan.

In another corner, Rienne is shut in a cage, silently trembling but unable to scream against the gag. Guards surround her cage, and Chloe herself is seated above the girl's head. "Nice of you to join us for the finale," she drawls sarcastically. "But Edan was never yours to begin with. I really don't know why you've been hiding him all these years - he should have died long, long ago."

Rena snaps in that moment.

Reaching out, she gathers wind in her palm and sharply tugs. The last gasp of air leaves the lungs of Chloe's clerics and guards, rendering them unconscious instantly. A wave of bodies falls to the ground as Rena wraps pure ether force around Edan's form, dispelling the alien soul form and transporting him back to the inner sanctum in her home.

The problem of freeing Rienne still stands, though. There's no way Chloe will just hand the young girl over, not without a fight. But she's every bit Rena's daughter now, and Rena doesn't deserve to be called Mother by Rienne if she isn't going to stand up and protect her.

"You've got some nerve, coming to Elysion," she spits. "Did Ran send you, since I've forbidden him from visiting me? Or are you still spiteful from the events of a hundred thousand years ago?"

"Like you've got anything to say," Chloe yells, but Rena doesn't focus on her. She splits her mind in two, one side that pretends to be listening to the _damn traitor_ , and the other weaving her wind magic. "You were the one who ruined my family! You were the driving force behind the verdict that killed my son!"

"And for good reason," Rena gasps. _Keep her attention._ "Because of you, I lost my mentor and best friend. You _deserved_ to lose that much!"

Chloe laughs. "Mentor? Best friend?" She says mockingly. "Let's be honest here, Rena, there's a lot more colourful words you can use to describe what he was to you."

The wind tugs apart the final bonds holding Rienne down, and then the cage shatters.

Power flows in the girl's blood - while her mother may have been mortal, her father is the crown prince of Elianode. The glory of the destructive Sun El radiates from her hands, and under the stress of the unconfined young goddess, the cage barely stands a second before it splinters into a million tiny pieces.

Rienne, thank goodness, is smart enough to roll out of the way as Chloe crashes down, shrieking as her back hits the metal shards. Rena runs to her immediately, pulling the young girl aside into a corner. "Mother, I'm so sorry," Rienne wails, face already streaked with tears. "I thought she was you."

"That's okay, darling," she assures her. "It's my fault for allowing her to do that in the first place. Just stay here and call for your father, okay?"

With those words, she raises her bow again, and turns to face the incoming wave of demons.

* * *

 _This is like a battle of a hundred thousand years past, all over again. Like that battle, you are the only thing between a helpless person and a million demon spirits, and it is up to you to protect the people that you love but there's only so much that you can do and suddenly you're backed into a corner._

 _Elesis lies curled up behind you, having fought hand-to-hand against Sult but ultimately falling when his life-absorbing blade nicks her in the forehead. Her face lies in a pool of blood that continues to cascade down her head, and she teeters dangerously on the bridge between life and death._

 _You bend your knees and lift your sword, knocking aside a demon and then another and another, but there's no end to them. All you can do is shift to plunge your blade into another demon's wispy form, while trying (trying!) to breathe life back into Elesis. Her heart continues to beat, and it resonates through the cosmos, through her mother who can feel her suffering but cannot do anything to save her._

 _There's a scream as Chloe launches herself into the air, blade aimed straight at your heart. You throw Earthen magic at her, igniting it in a blast of wind as you jab your sword straight at her, but it's not enough. There's always more demons coming at you._

 _A blade catches against yours, and then you're virtually fighting over Elesis's body against Chloe. You're fast, but she's faster, and with every swing of your sword she retreats a few steps but dances back towards you._

 _"CHLOE!"_

 _A sword comes flying through the air, and there's no time to parry, and you prepare yourself for the end-_

* * *

Then the reality swerves across the ethereal plane, and it hits Rena head on. Suddenly she's not Lua anymore, the weapon in her hand is not Erendil, her blade, but Daybreak, her bow. The young girl trembling behind her is not Elesis, but Rienne.

And most importantly, the blade that holds back what could have been a fatal blow belongs not to Edan, but to Raven.

"Demon King Ran," he says coldly, pushing the other swordsman backwards. "I hope you understand that this is a dire issue."

Ran backtracks to stand beside Chloe. "I was merely coming to the aid of my wife," he says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just as you've come to the aid of your... Fiancée."

Raven shakes his head and sheaths his blade once more. "Your wife has violated heavenly edict," he says. "She has trespassed into the home of Queen Rena of Elysion without permission, and stole the body of the great Master Edan, lord of the Silver Mountains."

His gaze narrows. "Furthermore, she has kidnapped Princess Rienne of Elianode," he says. "She has kidnapped _my_ daughter. Pray tell me, King Ran, is this meant to be a declaration of war, or vengeance for a personal vendetta? Because I will wage war upon your kingdom until nothing remains, and if it was a personal vendetta, then I will execute her without hesitation."

The room goes quiet for a moment, the only sound remaining being Rienne's quiet sniffling. "I will have her punished," Ran decides, looking at Chloe. "Though I respect that she was trying to restore our family."

"And so that makes it right to tear mine apart?" Rena snaps. There are tears in her eyes, and she's not sure what caused it. "I never should have let you take my appearance to begin with."

Chloe's eyes go wide. "Rena-"

She doesn't care. Blindly, Rena thrusts a hand towards her, taking back the spell that granted Chloe the freedom to look like her. "Return to what you once looked like," she orders, clasping the spell of her face in her hand.

And Chloe changes. As she dissolves into tears and screaming, her brilliant green eyes turn to a faded pink, and her skin turns dark, like the malice in her heart. "You can't!" She screams, tearing at her eyes. "You can't, Rena!" Blood drips down alongside her tears. "You can't!"

But Rena can, and Rena has. "I'm sorry. I can't let you keep it," she gasps, gripping onto Raven's shoulder. "Raven, let's go home."

They pull Rienne to her feet, and then Raven and Rena wrap their magic around themselves, and they return back to Elysion.

Rena locks herself in her room and cries for the rest of the day.

* * *

 _"Everything is okay," Raven says, running his palm soothingly over your shoulders to calm you down. "You're safe, Rena. Rienne is unhurt, Elesis is far from being hurt, and Edan is back in his cove. No one is hurt."_

 _"I hurt Chloe," you wail, face buried in your hands. You will never lose that image of Chloe tearing her eyes out for your entire immortal life, the blood that splattered to the floor below and mingled with her tears. "She is still my cousin, and I hurt her."_

 _"No, you didn't," Raven says softly. "You took back your possession, fair and square. She was the one who decided to harm herself."_

 _You dissolve into screams, and Raven holds you in his embrace, stopping you from tearing your hair out. Your screams die down into weak sobs, and even that fades to shudders, heavy breathing that probably shakes the heavens._

 _"Don't worry, Rena," Raven murmurs, his arms still tightly wrapped around you, "I'll be here for you." He presses a gentle kiss to your cheek. "I know what it feels like, that crushing guilt that follows your mistakes. Right now, I'm here for you, and I'll be here for you for as long as you need."_

 _His last words are the most haunting. "And I'll love you no matter what it takes to make you whole again."_

* * *

"I'm sorry, on Chloe's behalf."

They don't even face each other in the garden where they stand. "It may be my fault for reminding her of our lack of family," Ran says. "But she had no right to harm yours."

Rena is silent for a while, from her place under the peach tree. "Please stay away from Elysion from now on," she says. "Regardless of what type of past we may have had, our futures have separated, and I hope they stay separated."

"I understand." Ran clearly is bursting with questions, but doesn't say anything. "Goodbye, Rena."

She is silent as he walks away, boarding a cloud to return to the demon stronghold. Sighing, she gets up and wanders through the garden, looking at her trees.

* * *

 _And then the wind blows, and you realize that the peach tree has finally blossomed in all in brilliance, scattering the petals everywhere, and the person standing underneath it with you is neither Ran nor Edan, but Raven._

 _The petals land in your hair and in his, and they line the ground upon which you tread, and Raven silently brushes a single petal off your robe. "They are beautiful flowers, are they not?" He says wistfully, watching as the errant petal tumbles out of his fingers and to the ground below._

 _"They are." Your voice is almost lifeless, devoid of all emotion. It almost hurts to talk, since you've been crying so much. You don't even know why._

 _Raven shifts beside you awkwardly, catching a fallen blossom in the breeze with a flick of his hand. "You know, the blossoming of the peach trees is said to hail in love anew," he says after a long stagnant silence._

 _You try your best to turn to him, but you're frozen in thought, eyes a million miles away thinking of Chloe and Ran and Edan. "I know," you offer weakly._

 _He comes to stand beside you, gently wrapping you in his embrace from behind, and you accept the warmth, because you're going to have to accept it anyways if you don't do it now._

 _It feels nice to have this warmth again, though._

* * *

Rienne cries with Rena for the most part of that first day, though the promise of candy from Aisha is able to lure her out later in the evening.

"Mother, the man that was there," she says, nose and eyes red, "he looked just like Father."

"I know," Rena says, cradling the young girl in her arms. "His name is Edan."

"Was he dead?" Rienne asks. Her voice is full of a certain childhood innocence that reminds Rena all too much of Lua, the first Lua.

"He's sleeping," she says softly, putting a hand over Rienne's heart. "His soul is out there somewhere, wandering. I'm waiting for him to wake up."

Rienne's bottom lip trembles. "Mother, do you love him more than you love Father?" She asks. "Th-the bad woman said... She said..."

And that's the question Rena's been fearing all along. How can she just tell the girl that's supposed to become her stepdaughter that _no, I don't love your father, I've been mourning someone I admire past mentorship for the past hundred thousand years_ , without breaking her heart?

"Edan was my friend," is what she actually says. "And he was a teacher to me, and to Miss Elesis. Someday, when he wakes up, I hope I can send you to become his student as well."

Rienne visibly brightens up at that. "Oh, that Edan! Miss Elesis told me about him," she says excitedly, bouncing on Rena's legs. "Miss Elesis says that he taught you to do martial arts!"

"That he did," Rena chuckles, smoothing down her dress. "Miss Elesis is now teaching his school, so until he wakes up, you can go train under her, okay?"

Rienne nods happily. "Yeah!"

* * *

Elesis herself comes to pick up Rienne from Elysion, carrying them back to the mountain in Ruben on a cloud. "Training means no more candy," she warns Rienne, before laughing out loud. "Aw, but you're going to be my youngest student. The others get treats when they do well. I've found that food is the best motivation."

"It is!" Rienne chortles, and they all laugh.

"I'll be over in a bit, okay?" Elesis says, and pats Rienne on the head before walking to where Rena and Raven are standing. Her expression instantly tells Rena she means business.

"You sure she's half mortal?" She asks, holding out her hand. It glows with traces of Rienne's life essence - too much for a mortal, even for a demigod. "Because her heavenly essence says otherwise."

"Yes, she's half mortal," Raven blurts before Rena can even think. "Don't worry about her. She's prone to explosions, so you gotta watch out."

In the blink of an eye, Elesis back to her happy, fiery self. "Alrighty, then," she says, taking a hop and a skip back to the cloud where Rienne is waiting. "Challenge accepted."

"Write to us when you can!" Rena calls as they fly away in the wind, and Rienne's little form fades from view. "She really has grown up so quickly, hasn't she."

Raven smiles weakly. "She has," he says quietly.

* * *

"Finally, one less problem to deal with."

Rena slaps Owen _hard_ across the face, and the advisor goes flying across the room. "You will not talk about my future stepdaughter in that way," she snaps, glaring him down. "What would your prince say of you if he heard you speak of his daughter like that? Have some shame."

She turns around and leaves, fuming, ignoring the way that Raven stares in silent admiration from the doorway.

* * *

One day, not far from now, Rena will throw herself in a loveless marriage, with a man that reminds her only of the love she's lost, and the sweetest, most innocent stepdaughter that she can't bear to hurt.

She will not mind being married - a queen should have a king to balance her out, to kiss the wounds she has suffered in battle and to protect her family with her. What she will be very, very uncomfortable with is Raven's seeming devotion to her.

Why does he tell her such things, shower her with affection in his own sullen way, when it's so clear that he still longs for his long-gone mortal wife? Even when time after time she's shown that this marriage will only harm them?

Rena doesn't want to know. Maybe, someday, Raven will find the soul of his mortal wife again, and he'll live happily with her and leave Rena. That would be liberating, Rena supposes, or maybe much, much more confining.

(She doesn't want his affection. Not now.)

* * *

 **A/N: realization that today is monday hit me like a moose to the face**

 **i did say i was gonna water down the plot and now it seems sort of empty but at the same time i really can't manage all the characters**

 **also i've been working on a personal webcomic project lately so fic production is slow, i'm sorry**

 **but who knows, maybe i'll finally finish that chapter of Aspect that i've been sleeping on for so long**

 **~Marg**


	3. Part 3: Of Rena

AND SO THE GARDEN IN MY HEART BLOSSOMS

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 3: Of Rena

The news hits Rena like a rampaging bull, and it's almost ironic how Aisha is the one to deliver it.

"Edan's soul is still lingering in his body," she says. "Or at least enough of it that his body rejected the soul of Chloe's child. With a bit of magic, I'm sure he'll wake up within days."

Rena sinks to her knees and sobs.

* * *

"You'd need a powerful artifact to do it," says Lord Ebalon, examining the slumbering Edan upon his berth, "such as a very, very large piece of Sun El. But it can be done. I am certain of it."

"Is it really his soul in there?" Rena asks, almost hesitantly.

Ebalon nods. "Yes, it is." And then he smiles. "I commend your incredible preservation of his form, Queen Rena. He will wake up to the same body he inhabited a hundred thousand years ago."

Rena considers her choices. "Are there other artifacts I might be able to use to bring his soul back together?" She asks. "Must it be a large piece of Sun El?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Only the Sun El has enough of the powers of rejuvenation to do something of that level." Ebalon rises to his feet. "I can ask Lord Solace for a segment, although he may not agree." He sighs. "It has been a long time since I last spoke to him. You may need to ask him through someone else. Your fiancé is a scion of Elianode, is he not?"

Rena freezes. "Yes, he is," she says quietly. "I'll go ask him sometime soon."

"Then I will stay here to prepare Edan for his awakening." Ebalon smiles. "You really do ask me to come to Elysion for the strangest reasons, Queen Rena. But I am glad to be of your service."

Unsure of what he means, Rena bows swiftly, backing out of the inner sanctum, and escapes into the courtyard, into the garden.

Raven is there, wandering around the pond and feeding the koi fish with grains of rice. "Rienne asked me to feed the koi while she's in training," he explains as Rena wanders near. "I think she wants to make sure they don't die, so she can play with them when she comes back."

"Maybe we can surprise her with more fish," Rena suggests, as Raven scatters his last handful of rice through the water. "Do you think she'll like minnows?"

"Probably." Raven's small smile fades. "How's Edan?"

"Holding on," Rena says. Even to herself, her voice seems very, very small. "Lord Ebalon says I'd need a large amount of Sun El to do it, though."

Raven's gaze isn't quite focused as they begin to wander back towards the house. "How do you intend to acquire the Sun El?"

Rena shrugs. "I'll go barter with Lord Solace for it," she says. "And if I can't, I'll find another way to do it."

Raven is silent for a moment. "There's another way," he says, "but it's much too dangerous. I figure that's why Lord Ebalon didn't tell you. You can do it with less Sun El, but you'd need to gather many Seeds of Eldrasil. With the combined power of the two, I dare say you can awaken Edan in half the time it would take with just Sun El."

"Eldrasil..." Rena remembers a ritual that Grandmother Branwen brought her to witness, under the great Eldrasil Tree. "The Tree of Life, guarded by the Night Savers."

"Exactly." Raven's expression is grim. "You'd have to fight to prove your worth to them. So really, it's your choice - do you want to bring him back now or later?"

"Now," Rena blurts, before she can really compose herself. "Although it's been so long already. I wouldn't mind waiting another month or so."

Raven's face is stony. "If that's what you want."

* * *

 _And then your back hits the wall, and you gasp out not in pain but in surprise as Raven lunges forwards, wrapping his arms around you and holding you tightly to his chest. "Raven?" You ask hesitantly, only for him to lean down and firmly catch your lips with his._

 _Slowly, you let yourself fall into his embrace, reaching up to rest your hands on his shoulders. The tension is almost at a point where you're about to shatter, and really, you don't know what to do, you don't love him and you can't love him-_

 _A foreign memory hits you for a heartbeat - another time, another life, when someone loved Raven like you (can't) love him now. It fades as quickly as it comes, though, and you're left gasping for air in both the metaphorical and physical manner._

 _Raven releases you for just a moment, to pull your white shawl aside and toss your green scarf to the side. You feel a twinge of guilt as the scar from which you bled for Edan is exposed to him, but Raven is uncaring and kisses it as softly as he had kissed your lips._

 _"Rena," he says quietly, "will bringing Edan back make you happy?"_

 _And the honest truth is that you don't know if it will. You want to be a good wife, and a good mother to Rienne, but you know fully well that Edan will be a roadblock to both those goals._

 _Do you even love Edan, as much as you once did? Or is it just that a hundred thousand years on this emotional roller coaster have given you the maturity you need as a queen?_

 _"I don't know," you confess to Raven. "I can't give you my answer. I'm sorry."_

 _Raven watches you, studies your face. "You don't have to know," he says, biting his lip as he helps you cover up your scar once more. "I'm sorry, Rena. I thought I had control over myself."_

 _He turns away, not showing his face to you. "Please, just let me in," he pleads, quietly, before he leaves._

 _You sit down against the wall, more than a little shocked._

 _A single tear leaks from your eye._

* * *

"I'm stumped, Elsword," Rena says (or more or less complains) when she goes to Ruben that afternoon. "Why would he still love me, when I'm so hellbent on finding Edan's soul?"

Elsword shakes his head, refilling her teacup. "You might not realize this, Rena, but you're missing a huge part of the story here, both Raven's and your own."

"How'd I be missing a part of my own story?" Rena wrings her hands, nearly splashing into the hot tea. "I just can't figure it out. Why is he forgetting his mortal wife to court me?"

She puts her head in her hands, and lets Aisha pat her back from behind her softly while her tea cools down. "If it's any help, Prince Raven has been just as emotionally unstable as you have these past years," she offers. "You're not the only one in the emotional trainwreck."

"How did you two just," Rena says, voice muffled, "realize. That you wanted to be together."

Elsword shrugs. "Elsa did a lot of teasing," he says. "Then we started talking, an the rest is history."

"You gave me a cosmos flower," Aisha deadpans, "made out of the cosmos. You gave me a cosmic flower that took you three months to make. I hate to break it to you, but that's kind of indication of something."

Rena makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like "how are you two _still_ together," and her younger companions laugh.

But something about what they're saying adds up. If Raven truly loves her enough to forget his mortal wife, then maybe, _maybe_ , she can learn to love him instead of chasing her hopes of bringing Edan back.

"Oh," she says out loud, her hands falling as realization dawns on her. "Oh. I think I've screwed up."

Aisha raises an eyebrow, and Elsword gestures for her to _continue_.

Rena takes a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts.

"I think... I think I might love him."

* * *

Rena finally makes up her mind that evening, when Raven sits at the floor-height table with just a bottle of millet wine and a small earthen cup.

"Are you here to ask me how I'm doing?" Raven produces another cup out of nowhere. "Have some human wine. The taste is well formed, but the concentration is not as strong as to cause drunkenness."

"Why not," Rena says, sitting down on the other side of the table. "I don't think I've tried human wine before."

She graciously accepts the cup that Raven hands her, and takes a careful sip. The wine is strong in scent but not in alcohol concentration, and has the faint scent of toasted rice. "This is good," she says out loud. Raven nods in response, pouring himself more.

The hearth fire crackles, lighting up Raven's form in a halo of light. "I just wanted to," Rena says, trying to pull up words but failing, "thank you. For offering to make me happier."

"Who can I be if I can't make my future wife happy?" Raven smiles weakly. "You deserve happiness, Rena."

"And as do you." She inhales sharply, setting down her empty cup. "I'm sorry for causing you pain."

She doesn't want to love him, to accept that she does, but it's too late to go back now. Shamelessly, she leans forwards, pushes his cup aside, and kisses him, drinks in his alcohol-tinted lips.

Raven's eyes go wide, but he accepts it, and pulls Rena in greedily. The table digs into her stomach, and she climbs over it, fitting her lithe body against Raven's solid form and burying her hands in his hair.

"You don't have to do this," Raven finally says when they pull apart, eyes fluttering open. "Don't pretend that this is what you want."

Rena kisses him again, mostly to shut him up, and his eyes close. The world goes silent around them, even the fire of the hearth going quiet for the fire in their hearts. "This is what I want," she insists, barely able to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize it."

Raven is emotionless but not stoic. In that moment, he seems more vulnerable than Rena has ever seen him. "Then I am glad to be here for you."

Slowly, the ice in their hearts begins to melt.

* * *

"Do you know," Raven says, between pressing lazy midnight kisses over her neck, "why I love you so much?"

"It isn't because I remind you of her, is it," Rena murmurs, turning over his worn hands over in her own smooth ones. "Is it because of Rienne?"

Raven laughs lightly. "Well, I guess," he amends, "but it's mostly because of you yourself. There's something wonderful about you that no one else has, Rena. There's life in everything you do, and I love that about you."

She wonders briefly if he only means that because his human wife is dead, but then he kisses her again, and she opens her heart to him, and all of that is forgotten.

* * *

The voices come back to haunt her this night, but this time, they're clearer, and finally, Rena can put a voice to a name.

"Thank you," Raven whispers, after she's sobbed and screamed in his arms for a second time. "I don't care if you're doing this to hurt me, or for Edan, or just genuinely for yourself. I'm glad to have you back, if only for tonight."

Rena falls asleep in his arms, with his warmth still lingering in her core.

* * *

She wakes up to cold.

Raven is gone, probably on his daily morning walk. Rena sits up in his bed and winces as she looks at the mess they've made of the sheets. She'll need to clean those later, make the bed again so it looks at least presentable.

The real concern that plagues her is the fact that his sword is missing from its stand. She wraps herself loosely in her discarded robe from the night before, and examines it. There doesn't seem to have been a struggle against the magic seals holding down the sword, which means Raven himself took it, for whatever reason.

There's a small box wrapped in silk ribbon on the nightstand. Rena picks it up, and reads the note accompanying it.

 _You said you wanted the Sun El and the Seed of Eldrasil._

Her heart sinks as she opens the package.

"Oh," she whispers, as a shimmering golden piece of Sun El and a glowing green seed fall into her hand. "Oh, Raven."

* * *

"Prince Raven is recovering well from his injuries," Aisha assures her. "You know the old legend about any damage you inflict on a Night Saver will be returned twofold? He accidentally nicked the arm of one of them with his sword, and they cut his entire arm off."

"Oh god." Rena purses her lips, trying her hardest to not look like she's about to cry (which she is). "Why didn't you stop him?"

Aisha smiles softly. "I tried," she says. "But he wouldn't budge, not even when I told him I'd wake you up to get you to stop him. He said this is what you wanted."

"Not anymore," Rena manages. "Not like this."

She gestures towards the door. "Can I go see him?"

Aisha nods, and knocks three times before pushing the door open. "He's pretty badly injured, milady. Don't freak out."

Inside the small room, Raven is sitting on the bed as Lord Ebalon winds a bandage around his stump of a shoulder. "Tis' nothing but a flesh wound," Raven jokes. "Don't worry about me, Rena."

"You can't just go off doing things like this after-" Her voice shuts off, but she finds new words. "You can't go off doing things like this, period! How long will it take for your arm to regenerate?"

"About sixteen years in heavenly time," Lord Ebalon says whimsically, pressing a piece of healing Sun El into the bandage. "Although I will help with that by making you a prosthetic arm to act as a substitute while you recover."

Rena shakes her head, leaning down to hold Raven's face. "If you so much as _think_ of doing something like that again," she says, a little aggressively, "Lady Harnier help me I will summon my mother here from Ruben and get her to personally lecture you."

"That might be a bit overkill," Raven says. "Besides, you don't have time to lose. You have the Sun El and the Eldrasil now."

Rena sighs and kisses him on the forehead. "I'll be back to check on you as soon as I can," she promises, before she leaves, taking Aisha with her.

Ebalon finishes wrapping the bandage around Raven's shoulder. "I didn't tell her about the Eldrasil because I knew she'd try to find it herself," he sighs. "Didn't think you'd go doing it for her."

Raven's gaze is empty. "Anything to make her happy."

* * *

With a bit of Aisha's help, Rena carries out the incantation that will gather Edan's soul back together. The inner sanctum explodes in blinding light, and then Edan inhales a shuddering breath and sits up.

"That was _awful,_ " he says, like he's still stuck in that war of a hundred thousand years past. He looks up. "Oh hey, Lua. Or should I say, good morning, Queen Rena."

"You knew," Rena says, surprised. "How'd you know my real identity?"

Edan smiles, and Rena's gut twists when she realizes how much he reminds her of Raven, and not the other way around. "For safety reasons, your parents informed me before you came to my school." He stretches his arms over his head. "How long has it been since my soul splintered? Fifty thousand years?"

"A hundred thousand," Rena corrects. "You've been sleeping for a hundred millennia."

Edan freezes. "That means you know Raven, then," he says, cautiously.

In that moment, Rena's brain shuts down. "What do you mean, that means I know Raven?" She demands, trying to figures _how_ he might know her (beloved) fiancé. "And how do you know that I know him?"

"Just answer the question, Rena," Edan says, exasperated, just like he did when she used to get riled up over superficial matters a hundred thousand years ago.

Rena is silent for a bit, and Edan doesn't press. Aisha comes in and brings them both tea, which Edan accepts graciously. "Yes," Rena says finally. "He is my fiancé."

"Ah." Edan takes a long sip of his tea, draining the cup in a single go. "You probably don't know this, but he's my twin brother."

As Rena completely loses her mind, Aisha knocks on the door. "Master Ebalon is here," she announces, before adding a quick "and so is Elsword. May I invite them in?"

"Let them all in," Rena stammers, still unable to process the news that _makes so much sense_. Everything makes sense, now that she's no longer missing that piece of the puzzle.

Elsword and Edan strike up a quick conversation about Elesis and the school, while Ebalon updates Rena on Raven's condition. "He should recover fairly quickly," he says, "but I would like to invite him to my own abode to fit the new prosthetic."

"As long as he's okay with it," Rena says, and frowns. "I shouldn't have let him go. I should have known he was going to do it."

"Yes, but you have Edan back," Ebalon points out.

Rena smiles wryly. "I gain back my best friend, but nearly lose my husband," she comments wistfully. "It's like bargaining with the devil, isn't it?"

Ebalon studies her. "Interesting," is all he says.

* * *

"Raven and I were born together," Edan explains later, after Raven has come to visit the inner sanctum and Rena has kissed him goodbye and Ebalon has taken him back to his cave to fit the prosthetic. "But when we were young, there was... An attack on our home that ended with Raven's soul being shattered."

"Oh," Rena manages. "So he went into hibernation?"

"Exactly," Edan says. "His estimated awakening date was about forty thousand years ago. After my soul got shattered, my pieces, if you will, went around trying to gather him back together in his body. I was able to reduce his estimated awakening time by about ten thousand years."

He tilts his head in curiosity. "But how'd you end up engaged to him?" He asks. "I recall your mother gave your hand to our brother Valak."

"It's a long story," Rena says. "Valak is happy now. He and his wife just had a son."

"Aw, that's cute." Edan smiles. "Do you and Raven have kids yet?"

"Raven has a daughter from his marriage to a human woman," she says, biting her lip. "Her name is Rienne. She's training under Elesis right now."

"What- oh. I see." Edan tiles his head like he's studying her, which is strangely reminiscent of Master Ebalon. "Are you jealous, Rena?"

Rena goes slightly red, ducking her head. "Maybe."

They remain in an uncomfortable silence for a while. "Do you love him, from the bottom of your heart?" Edan asks.

"I love him," Rena says, quietly. "I really do."

Edan sighs. "Then all will be well."

* * *

Rena offers to accompany Edan back to the mountain, and he promises that he'll give Rienne a break so she can go home and visit her parents.

Elesis is the one to open the door when Edan knocks, and she gasps and stumbles backwards. "Holy _shit,_ you scared me there, ya old man!" She exclaims, wrapping Edan in a bear hug. "Elsword told me you were up, but I didn't think you'd be visiting so soon!"

"That's all good, but I still need to breathe," Edan chokes, and Elesis finally lets him go. "It's been a long time, Elesis. How's my number one rookie doing?"

"Don't you mean your number one substitute teacher?" She grins, and steps aside to let them in.

The students are all floored the moment Edan approaches them. Despite their awe (as shown by the fact that the entire class kneels at his feet), they're still very intimidated by this magical teacher from legends of a hundred thousand years past. "Does this mean Miss Elesis isn't going to teach us anymore?" A young fire spirit boy squeaks.

"I'll come back, but there's no way I'm teaching this entire class all at once," Edan laughs. "You kids are so young compared to my class, back then! And there's so many of you! I'm gonna need Elesis to help hold down the fort."

The students start to flood him with questions, and Edan starts to remember the horrors of teaching after so many years slumbering.

From the edge of the crowd, Rienne slips out. Her long hair has been tied up, and the sleeves of her fighting smock have been rolled up to her elbows. "Mother, have you been well?" She asks excitedly, wrapping her arms around Rena's middle. "Have you been feeding my fish?"

"I've been well, and your fish are fed," Rena laughs, leaning down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Has training been hard?"

"It has... But I like it!" Rienne gives her a cheeky grin. "How has Father been?"

Rena exhales slowly, and kneels down to come to eye level with Rienne. "Your father was hurt recently," she says quietly, "and it's mostly my fault. But he is recovering well. You'll come back and see him, right?"

A bit of the light dies from Rienne's eyes, but she nods firmly. "I will. I promise!"

Edan rings the bell for dinner, and all the children filter off. "I need to go!" Rienne hugs Rena one last time, small hands now rough with training scars. "I love you, Mother! Tell Father that I love him too!"

"And we love you too, sweetheart," Rena replies, watching as her daughter runs off, chattering with the other children.

She sighs as she gets up. "Stay safe. Please."

* * *

Raven comes home to Rena's abode that night with his new prosthetic arm in white and black, and while it does work, he hits himself in the face more often than not with it.

"I might not be able to do things that require precision with this arm anymore," he says, "but it's very strong, and it'll be useful for carrying things."

Rena raises an eyebrow. "Like me?"

Raven laughs out loud. "Yeah, if you want me to."

It's rather obvious that the prosthetic bothers him, but Raven makes the best out of it. He demonstrates its strength to Rena by sparring with her, sword against bow, which ends in laughter as he prepares to swing and the sword falls out of his hand.

They walk together in the garden in the daytime, hand in hand, and Raven climbs trees to pick the best peaches off the highest branches for Rena. They bring them back to the house and make candies with all sorts of fruits, awaiting Rienne's return from training.

At night, they bathe in the warmth of the hearth but also in each other's warmth. True to his word, Raven carries Rena away, and kisses her until her lips are numb and the huge scar on her chest begins to fade.

They're so sickeningly in love that Rena feels like she's floating. She falls asleep each night, wrapped in his arms, and wakes up in the morning to no Raven at her side, but a handwritten note from him, reminding her that he'll be back from his walk soon. It's become a cycle that she knows she can fall into, one that she has fallen into.

For once, she doesn't want it to end.

* * *

Rienne comes back to Elysion for her birthday, and is extremely distraught to find out that her father is missing _an entire arm_. "How will you do anything with just one arm?" She wails, shaking the prosthetic so much that Rena is scared that it'll fall off. "Mother, you need to grow it back! Make it grow back!"

"That... Might be a bit difficult," Rena admits. "It will take time, but I'm sure your father will be able to grow the arm back."

Like he did with Rena, Raven proves to Rienne that he's not completely grounded the same way he proved it to Rena, by sparring with her. Afterwards, he confides to Rena in secret that their daughter is getting alarmingly powerful, and could easily surpass both of them when she's older.

Elesis comes to pick her up a few days later, and watches as Rienne shovels peach candies into her pockets in an attempt to smuggle them to school. "Too bad you'll barely have enough time to eat them," she teases, before she looks up. "Woah. You good, Raven?"

"Why does everyone ask me that," he groans, smacking himself in the face with his normal hand. "I'm just missing an arm."

"Are you still gonna be able to do things with just one arm, though?" Elesis asks, not so innocently. "Am I right, Rienne?"

"Can you still hug Mother, Father?" Rienne asks, eyes alight with curiosity.

Raven snorts. In one fluid motion, he reaches under Rena, who yelps, and scoops her up into his arms. "Does that answer your question?"

"Raven," Rena complains, only for her complaint to get cut off with a kiss. Rienne squeals and shields her eyes.

Elesis laughs out loud, and herds Rienne towards the cloud waiting for them. "Say goodbye, critter." She winks at Rena, whose face is completely red. "Have fun, you two."

"Goodbye!" Rienne calls, and then they're gone.

Rena looks up from her perch in Raven's arms. "So, are you gonna put me down, or are you just going to keep holding me like this?"

Raven shrugs, starting to walk back into the house. "Well, there's nothing stopping me from doing either, so I suppose I'd prefer keeping you here, where I can _hug_ you."

"Yeah, but now my robes are going to be wrinkled," Rena says, just as Raven lays her down on their shared bed. "Thank you. What a gentleman."

"Your robes are going to be wrinkled regardless," Raven tells her with a straight face, though it's clear he's struggling to not laugh. "It was just a matter of time."

Rena just rolls her eyes. "Shut up and _hug_ me, Raven."

* * *

Even though the prosthetic is stable, Raven still has to go to Ebalon to get certain parts adjusted every so often to adapt to the arm he's growing back. Sometimes he brings Rena along, but more often than not, since Ebalon is a night owl and Rena treasures her beauty sleep, he leaves early in the morning and comes back before she can even wake up.

"I'll be back before dinner," he promises one afternoon, when they've finished picking the newest apple crop together. "Don't go burning down demon strongholds if I'm gone for a little too long."

"I make no promises," Rena laughs, kissing him goodbye and watching him disappear into the wind current.

The house becomes empty without him, but Rena waits for him to come back patiently. She makes dinner quietly, with Owen helping her chop vegetables.

"You should be there with him," Owen says, grabbing a green onion from the basket and shredding it beneath his knife. " _You_ should be suffering, not him."

As Rena watches in horror, Owen points the knife at her. "He was so close to forgetting Lady Seris," he spits, "and _you_ poisoned him."

The knife goes flying and lodges itself into the chopping board, next to the chopped green onion, and Owen turns his back to Rena and leaves.

* * *

It just doesn't make sense. Why would Owen bring up Raven's past now, when they're finally so happy together?

Rena rolls the piece of Sun El from her incantation between her fingers lazily, as she sits on the bed she now shares with Raven. "Why now?" She murmurs, pressing its rough surface against her palm, and leaving a red mark. "Why this?"

She's finally found happiness, something she can look forwards to, and a family she loves, and _now_ of all times Owen decides to bring up the one thing that still plagues her endlessly.

A prickle brings Rena back to reality. She looks down as the jagged edge of the Sun El cuts into her skin, drawing blood against the shimmering rock.

And then, finally, she remembers.

* * *

 **A/N: fun fact: at some point on every monday i suddenly look up from whatever i'm doing and i shriek something along the lines of "IT'S MONDAY" and proceed to look for content to upload (which is funny because i always do)**

 **it wouldn't be me if i didn't leave at least one cliffhanger**

 **honestly though the drama (and the novel!) would have been so much better if they hadn't put it in chronological order but yknow that's just my two cents**

 **~Marg**


	4. Part 4: Of Seris

AND SO THE GARDEN IN MY HEART BLOSSOMS

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 4: Of Seris

 **TW: self-destructive behaviour and suicide. Proceed with caution.**

 _In a life you have since forgotten, you underwent a holy trial as your final step to queenhood. You fought Sult a second time to incarcerate him, and in your struggle to defeat him, you reincarnated within the mortal world with no memory of your past. In a life you have since forgotten, you were a human woman: Seris Bryony, just a human girl from a small village with a penchant for dancing and mischief and plants._

 _You grew up in what must have been the happiest little village to exist, spending your days with your rice farming family and neighbours. With kind but sharp eyes, you were the best seamstress and embroiderer in the village. Although you were mischievous and playful, your kindness and love of the world around you came back to you tenfold._

 _The greatest thing that ever came to you in this life was love - love for your family, for your friends, for the environment, and a boy you grew up with whose name was Raven._

* * *

"C'mon, Raven," she laughs, pulling him forwards by the sleeve. "You've gotta loosen up once in a while, y'know?"

"Seris, I have to get back home in one piece," Raven protests, though his flushing cheeks and stumbling feet betray him. "Please don't drop me into the river again. I can't afford to have to clean these robes again."

She sticks her tongue out at him. "Nonsense, I'll wash them for you." She drops the smile, though the pure light still lingers in her eyes, in her touch. "I want to go gather Chinese yams from the riverbank. Pane's coughing is getting worse, and I'm really starting to run out of ideas."

Raven holds his pokerface for about five seconds before breaking into a soft smile. "You know I'd never be able to refuse a request like that," he admits, "especially one from you."

( _Good_ , Seris thinks. _Because I'd follow you to the ends of the earth._ )

"How are you going to cook them?" He asks awkwardly as they find a leisurely pace along the forest path, and _oh_ , he's holding her hand. "You know Pane's a picky eater."

Seris simply gives him a shit-eating grin. "Yeah, but she's sick enough that she'll do anything to make the coughing stop at this point," she says. "I'm gonna mash them and put blueberry jam on top."

"No," Raven gasps playfully, squeezing her hand tighter. "You _wouldn't_."

"Yes, I most certainly would," she replies, and pulls him forwards as she takes off in a run.

* * *

She hears Raven crash through the front door before she sees him. "Raven," she cooes, dropping the dish she'd been washing back into the washtub. "I didn't expect-"

Raven presses his hand over her mouth, holding her close with his free arm. "Seris, you have to hide," he says frantically, pulling her towards her bedroom closet. "Stay in here until I come back to tell you it's safe, alright?"

"What's happening?" She manages to choke out, feet flailing against his strides.

"Anarchists from the south," he says. Seris's breath catches in her chest. "Don't panic. They can't hurt you while I'm here."

"My parents," she whispers as he tucks her into the closet. "Your parents. All of our friends and family. Raven, are they going to be okay?"

"I'll protect them," he insists. His sword is already at his side, ready to be swung against any enemy. "I'll protect _you_. There's no way I'll let anyone hurt you."

The closet door closes, leaving her in complete darkness as crackling fire and clashing blades echo around her house.

Seris has never felt so alone.

* * *

"Why do you always wear black robes, Raven?" Seris murmurs, peeling the fabric off his shoulder. "Even in the summer, when it's too hot outside. Do you not have robes in any other colour? Because I will gladly make you some."

"It's not that," Raven insists, even as Seris exposes a huge bloody gash across his arm. "I do have white robes for ceremonies and whatnot."

She hums softly. "Then why not wear them?" She asks. "Tell me if this hurts," she adds as an afterthought.

Raven manages a small smile. "Well, it's just… If you get hurt in battle," he explains, "and you're wearing white robes, then everyone will be able to tell, right?" His voice goes quiet as Seris's hand drops in shock. "Black robes can hide the bloodstains."

Seris shakes her head, like she's dispelling the bad thoughts, and continues to work on his wounds with clean rags and spirits in silence. Raven drops his gaze into his lap and picks at the ends of his now frayed belt.

"Are they all safe?" Seris finally asks, unrolling a strip of white cotton bandage to wrap around his arm. "Did you fight off the anarchists?"

"Yes." Raven takes in a shaky breath. "Are you mad at me, Seris?"

"I can't fault you for something that really wasn't anything either of us could have controlled," she says firmly, lips pursed. "Raven, love, I'm not mad at you, I just-"

Her expression crumples, and she turns away to wipe her tears on the back of her sleeve.

Quietly, Raven snakes his arms around her waist, holding her tightly while she cries silently into her sleeves. "I don't want to lose you," she sobs, even as Raven rests his chin on her head and brings her closer to him, "I can't. You mean _everything_ to me, Raven."

"Seris. Look at me."

She can't.

(She does.)

"I really can't lose you either," he says, and he's crying too now. "Seris, I had to protect you. I couldn't let them hurt you."

She sighs and reaches up to hold his face. There's a small scar across his cheek. She wipes the blood away with her thumb. "Love, you don't have to do anything," she insists, before kissing him gently until the worry fades from his eyes. "As long as you're safe."

They settle into a peaceful quiet, holding each other until the pain goes away.

* * *

It's late August when they finally decide to seal the deal and get married. No one knows about it - not Seris's parents, not Raven's, not even their closest friends. It's a quiet little ceremony in a little glade in the woods, witnessed only by nature's gentle touch.

No one needs to know how they disappear afterwards, without leaving a single trace. As Raven lifts the red veil off Seris's face, he opens his heart to her entirely, confessing everything he's hidden since they were children - since he was a child, thousands of years ago.

"Do you trust me?" He whispers.

"Yes," Seris replies, and loses herself in his arms as his mythical powers wrap around them both, taking them higher up than any mortal should be able to ascend. The winds billow around them, threatening to tear the beautiful red veil from her head, but she doesn't let go to keep it down.

They rise into the sky, slowly but surely, and Seris presses her face to Raven's shoulder, hiding a smile that she shouldn't be afraid to show. "Are we heading home?" She asks, voice barely louder than a murmur.

Raven nods. "We're going to my ancestral home," he says, "in Elrianode. In the heavens."

The implied _we'll be together forever there_ goes unspoken.

* * *

Things go wrong almost immediately after they land in Elrianode.

Seris is no user of magic, but she knows well enough when someone's trying to threaten her with it. When Raven's feet touch down onto the shimmering marble bridge, a posse of what has to be thirty men, armed to the tooth with magical weapons, greets them.

"Prince Raven," their leader says, and Seris gets a shiver down her back as her husband's true identity rings through the heavens, "your father wishes to see you."

"As expected." Raven sighs and offers Seris a small smile before turning back to the soldiers with cold, cold eyes. "Please open my chambers and allow me to bring my beloved there. And please summon Aisha as well."

The leader bares his teeth. "Prince Raven, your father has ordered that we bring the mortal woman as well."

"Then tell him that I cannot subject her to his words," he snaps, before calming down. "Not until she has settled into our home."

The soldiers shift uneasily, but they heed his words, allowing Raven to bring Seris to a gilded hall. "What's going on?" She whispers, still holding onto his hand tightly. "Your father won't be upset with you, will he?"

"He's always upset with me," Raven murmurs. "Don't worry, Seris. You're in good hands. I won't let him hurt you."

He sets her down on a bed covered in the finest silks, beautifully woven and cold to the touch. "Is Aisha here yet?" He asks, looking around. "She'll take care of you while I'm gone. You needn't worry."

They share one final kiss, and then Raven smiles and lets himself be dragged away by the soldiers, leaving Seris alone in the empty hall.

* * *

"Lady Seris?"

She looks up, directly into the violet eyes of a young woman holding a tea set. "Prince Raven has sent for me to look after you," she says. "My name is Aisha. I'm to be your handmaiden now."

"Thank you," Seris croaks, unsure of what to say to the young immortal. "Is Raven alright?"

Aisha looks pensive as she pours Seris a cup of tea. "He's weathering a lot of yelling from the Heavenly King right now," she admits. "Most likely because the Heavenly King is afraid that Prince Raven will give up his right to the throne to be with you, the way Second Prince Valak did for Lady Amelia."

"Oh." Guilt suddenly fills her chest. What if Raven loses his home and his birthright because of her? Will he hate her for this? Is he going to have to leave her to keep his home?

"Lady Seris, please relax!" Aisha says worriedly, grabbing her shoulders. "It's not your fault. Prince Raven won't be punished for marrying you. In fact, there's nothing that the Heavenly King can really use against him from your marriage. He's just a little… concerned that the crown prince has been missing for so long.

"How long has he been missing from the heavens?" Seris asks, the guilt building up even higher with every word.

"Not as long as you might think," Aisha assures her. "A month in the mortal realm is only but a day here. His mortal reincarnation is about twenty-five years old, so I'd say he's been gone for… ten months, perhaps?" She shrugs. "It's not long. Like an extended vacation."

At that moment, the doors burst open, and without even thinking, Seris throws her arms out protectively around Aisha, despite the fact that the other girl is probably capable of much, much more than she is. Thankfully, it's just Raven at the door, and while he's unhurt, he looks tired.

"Thank you, Aisha," he says, dipping his head at her. "You are dismissed for the day."

Aisha gives Seris a quick grin before bowing to Raven and taking her leave. Raven sighs and crosses the room to sit down on the bed with her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She tries to smile at him, but the sentiment falters and dies before it can really show. "Raven, I'm sorry if I've gotten you into trouble."

"You haven't," he assures her, "and you shouldn't be sorry. If anything, I should be apologizing for putting you in a dangerous situation."

"It's not your fault," she whispers, brushing a wisp of hair out of his face. Up close, his amber eyes are even more stunning, and the guilt that clouds them mirrors Seris's own. "You only wanted the best for us. In the end, we're still together, and nothing else could make me happier."

She kisses him tenderly, feeling his magic, once hidden from her, dancing under her fingertips. He presses forwards until her back is tucked against the silks, their bodies flush against each other.

"Is this okay?" Raven asks, and in that moment, Seris has never seen him more beautiful - features softened with love, fingertips caressing her face, eyes dark with the knowledge of thousands of years.

"It's perfect," she responds, and rushes up to kiss him again.

* * *

The heavens seem to rejoice and recoil at the same time to the news of Raven's marriage to Seris, applauding her graces but denouncing her morality.

(Her time in the heavens has erased her senescence entirely. She has become timeless, at least for the time being, and all her senses have become sharpened tenfold. Her piercing eyesight now rivals even the fiercest eagles, and her touch is gentler than the kiss of an angel. While she is still mortal, she has now been loved by a celestial, and so parts of her become celestial as well.)

A few immortals from Elysion arrive one day, seemingly angry, until they see her standing meekly at Raven's side. "Oh, sweet child," one of the women gasps as she bundles Seris in a hug, and Seris will only find out later that she is Lilia Erindel, Queen of Elysion. Swept up in her arms, Seris feels a longing sense of home and of love, a maternal love that fades away all too quickly.

Not everyone loves her immediately, though. She meets Raven's advisor Owen during her second week in Elrianode, and he immediately turns a blind eye, scorning her every decision during her time as "Prince Raven's guest".

"Does Owen hate me?" She asks Raven one evening, as they prepare to sleep. "Is it because I'm mortal?"

Raven looks pained. "He's jealous," he says. "Owen… has always thought himself as higher than others because he's the last of his tribe, saved by my father during the last great war against the demon tribe. He believes he has a greater right to my time than any other person in Elrianode. The fact that I'm spending so much time with you is making him more standoffish than normal."

"The fact that I'm mortal doesn't help, does it," Seris murmurs.

"Regardless of what he thinks," Raven insists, wrapping his arms around her, "nothing will change my love for you. I'll protect you from him with all my power."

"I'm sure you have a lot of that," she tells him, and gets a beautiful smile in return.

* * *

It's no surprise to anyone that Seris is expecting a child soon afterwards. This significantly boosts her popularity in the heavens, to the point where the Heavenly King requests an audience so he can formally thank her.

"It's safe now, I think," Raven says as he leads her there. She's barely three months along, but somehow everyone is already treating her like she's made of glass. "Father is very happy now, so I don't think he's in the mood to smite you from the heavens."

Nonetheless, she keeps her head down from the moment she steps into the Elrianodian throne room. She kneels to the floor in front of the Heavenly King, bowing deeply until he tells her to rise.

She looks up, only slightly scared. Raven's hand finds hers in the stillness of the moment. She wonders if the man on the throne is truly his father, because how can his eyes be so terribly cold when Raven's are so welcoming and warm?

Then the corners of his eyes crinkle, and he smiles at her. "Thank you, Seris Bryony, for bringing so much joy to my son," he says.

(It seems so fake, almost forced, but she doesn't question it. She doesn't have any right to.)

"And thank you for giving him an heir," he continues. Something in Seris says, spitefully, _and there's the real reason I'm here_. She swallows it down. "Your mortal lifespan may be short, but your legacy will be remembered forever within the heavens. On behalf of all the celestials of Elrianode, I thank you."

He nods once, like he's only begrudgingly bowing, and then he waves his arm through the air. "You are dismissed," he says, and Raven grabs her hand and practically _flies_ out the door.

"He didn't mean a word of what he said, did he," Seris murmurs, to which Raven shakes his head.

"Father may seem terrifying, but it's not in his nature to lie about things like this." He kisses her hand gently. "We should get you somewhere to rest."

Seris pouts. "I'm only three months along. You don't have to treat me like a glass sculpture."

Raven grins at her. "But then what kind of a husband would I be?" He chuckles, pressing another kiss to her cheek. "Let me pamper you a bit while I can."

* * *

The real horror starts when Owen decides to start antagonizing Seris.

He doesn't follow her everywhere, but sends his servants to pester her every other minute. "Lord Owen requests that you return his calligraphy brushes," the one named Zohan says, false sugar lining his voice. "They are of the utmost importance to him. He is displeased enough that you have taken them without his permission."

"I do not do calligraphy," Seris responds coldly. She's learned that trick from Raven, who glared at the servants so hard that they backed out of the room kowtowing. "If Owen thinks I have his brushes, then by all means, you have my permission to look through my desk and see if I really do."

She doesn't, and Zohan goes away angry, only to be replaced by Fred moments later. "Lord Owen would like to meet you on the bridge," he reports. "Immediately, if possible."

"Please tell him to give me a few minutes," she says. "I may have some trouble getting there. I will have Miss Aisha accompany me."

Fred, who seems to be the more reasonable of the two, bows as he walks out. "Thank you, Lady Seris."

Aisha comes in to assist her a minute later, and they wander out onto the bridge, where Owen is standing. "I don't think your services will be needed right now, Aisha," he says, tilting his head oh-so innocently. "You are dismissed."

The young immortal gives Seris an almost desperate look. _What are your orders, milady?_ Her voice says into Seris's mind, ringing with telepathic energy.

 _Stay nearby, and call for Raven if you think I need help,_ she replies in thought, offering a smile. Aisha bows and takes her leave, and Seris and Owen remain alone on the bridge.

"What have you called me here for?" She asks, looking over the side of the bridge. The clouds part below to reveal the earth, far, far down below. If she leans just a little bit, she can see mortals on the ground below - humans, like her. "I suppose there must be something on your mind."

"Yes." Owen grabs her shoulders roughly, spinning her around to face him. "Let me make it very clear to you, _Lady_ Seris," he snarls, "you are _nothing_ here to anyone, not even to Raven. Did you know he's betrothed to a princess of Elysion?"

"Let go of me!" Seris screams, pushing his hands off her. She lands roughly on the ground, hitting her back against the marble tiles, but at least his hands are off her. "Don't touch me," she gasps, as tendrils of pain shoot up her back. "Do you not know that I'm carrying a child?"

"You are nothing but a walking womb to him," Owen yells. "Once you give birth, Raven will be done with you entirely."

"Everything he's ever told me has led to me knowing _not_ to trust you," she shouts, hoping that somehow her voice will carry over to Aisha. "He trusts me. So why should I trust you?"

"Oh really?" Owen bares his teeth at her in a macabre grin. "And how long has he known you? Twenty, thirty years? I've known him for _forty-thousand._ You say he trusts you?" He extracts a silver knife from his robes, holding it up like a madman. "I'm willing to bet my eyes that he trusts me more."

Before she can react, he plunges the knife into his eye, which spurts out golden blood that quickly decays to rust. "Stop," she says weakly, and he lifts it up and prepares to do the same to the other eye. "STOP, OWEN!"

But then his other eye is gone as well, and he tosses the bloody knife at her feet. The blood splatters onto the clean tiles, staining them forever. "Now let's see," he says, before crumpling to the ground and screaming in pain.

"Raven," Seris whispers weakly, and it must carry above the din of Owen's screams, because Raven appears at her side in a flash.

"Oh god, are you alright?" He frets, gathering her up in his arms. "Seris, he didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He hurt himself," she whimpers, and everything hurts, and she really hopes the baby is okay but she's not sure of anything anymore, not even Raven's love for her.

"SHE GOUGED MY EYES OUT," Owen wails, lifting his bloody face from the marble tiles. "SHE IS A _WITCH_ , YOU CAN'T TRUST HER, RAVEN!"

Raven looks at her. "Seris, did he-"

"He dug his own eyes out, Raven," she whispers. "I couldn't get up from where I was to stop him."

He stares blankly at the bloody scene in front of him, and Seris's heart wavers. "Please trust me, Raven," she begs. "I didn't want this to happen. You know me better than anyone. I'd never hurt another soul."

"I trust you," he says.

His smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.

* * *

Owen goes right to the Heavenly King after what remains of his eyes are cleaned and bandaged, and Seris sits alone in Raven's room, arms wrapped around her abdomen, awaiting judgement.

 _Aisha heard everything_ , she thinks to herself. _If Raven can't prove my innocence, Aisha can, can't she?_

The doors open, and she flinches, but it's just Raven. His expression is grim. "Raven," she says, and it's all she manages to say before he crosses the room and stops her from speaking with a kiss.

"I'm so sorry," he says after they break away from each other, cheeks rosy. "Aisha and I did our best to fight for you. But Father… Father believes that you are guilty. He has ordered me to…" He shudders, and Seris realizes he's blinking away tears. "Father has ordered that I take your eyes and give them to Owen."

The devastation sinks from her chest into her stomach. For a moment, Seris forgets how to breathe. "Oh."

"I'm so sorry," Raven repeats, and then he's sobbing against her shoulder, choking out apologies like the world is ending. "I would tear out my own eyes to save yours if I could."

"No, Raven," she says quietly, kissing his forehead. "Love, you're the crown prince. I can't have you going around doing princely things while blind. Besides, I'm mortal. I'll gain my eyes back in my next life."

"I won't even forgive Owen for this," he says, voice strained with guilt. "No matter how much he appeals to Father, I won't ever trust him again, not after what he's done to hurt you."

They stand there in silence for a moment, letting the matter sink in. Raven rests his hands on Seris's abdomen, gently rubbing small circles against the fabric of her robes. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" He asks quietly.

Seris shakes her head. "Aren't you going to ask about the baby's condition?" She murmurs.

Raven smiles. "The baby is part-Celestial," he says. "And besides, we could always have another kid. But nothing in world could replace you, Seris." He kisses her forehead softly, keeping his arms wrapped around her.

Distantly, Seris wonders how much of that he really meant.

* * *

Raven makes the procedure entirely painless with his magic. One moment, Seris is looking into his teary eyes, seeking out the last light of love within, and the next, everything goes dark.

(It's comforting to know that if she must die blind, the last thing she'll ever see is his face.)

"I'll be your eyes from now on," he says, wrapping a strip of cold silk around her eyes, "and when I can't, Aisha will fill in for me."

As she lays herself down to sleep that night, she hears Raven sob horribly at her side, and she doesn't need magic to know that he's wracked with guilt. "Raven, love," she murmurs, holding him tightly and finding all the features of his face with her fingertips. His eyes, still tearful. His sharp jawline. His lips, which she gently kisses. "It's not your fault."

She stays in their room most of her days from then on, while Owen's terrible laughter fills her ears and haunts her nightmares. Aisha brings her meals and occasionally medicines for her aching back, and helps her around the house when Raven is off doing things for his father.

"Now I'm really just a glass sculpture," she laughs to herself when she bumps into a screen door and Aisha rushes to assist her. "I'll shatter any day now at this rate."

"Don't say that about yourself, milady," Aisha insists, but her voice seems disembodied in the darkness. "You'll live a full life, I'm sure of it."

Seris isn't sure of anything anymore.

Then war breaks out against the demon stronghold, and she barely gets to kiss Raven goodbye before he's leaving again, possibly never to return. Aisha stands with her in the doorway, and tells her when they disappear from sight. "I have a friend who's fighting with them," she says. "I'll ask him to keep us updated on the front lines."

Seris goes into labour that night, and for once it's not Owen's screams that fill her ears, but her own. Aisha sends for her friends to help, since the Heavenly King seems to have abandoned them entirely. Artea and Sasha and Ignia show up with pans of hot water and towels and calming medicines that take away the physical pain.

At the end of it, Seris lies with a crying little bundle by her side, one that squirms and screams.. "Lady Seris, congratulations on your daughter!" The voice she now knows belongs to Artea says. "What are you going to name her?"

Seris tries to smile. "Her name is Rienne," she says quietly. _Rienne, a name of nothing. Of having nothing. Of seeing nothing._

She sleeps with her daughter cradled in her arms that night, the first restful sleep she's had since Owen stole her eyes from her.

* * *

The day Raven is due to return from war is the day Seris knows she can't hold on any longer.

Maybe it's the blindness. Maybe it's Owen's not-so-little victory over her. Maybe it's the separation, or the fact that she hasn't once seen the child she brought into this world. She swaddles and feeds Rienne and fusses over her like a mother should, but she's so disconnected from everything else that's happening that it drives her mad.

Something inside tells her it's because she's a mortal, because she's a stranger up here in the heavens. She has to return to the earth, where she belongs, and the only way left for her to do that is to leave the heavens through the bridge.

"Prince Raven is back," Aisha gushes. "You wait right here, Lady Seris, I'll bring him in."

Emotionally, Seris is already gone. She kisses Rienne's tiny face one last time before setting her in her cradle, and gets up.

It's been a while since she's had to walk on her own now, between her pregnancy and her blindness. She reaches out in front of her, feeling her way through the hall and managing to make it to the door that leads to the bridge.

There are people starting to wonder where she is, somewhere in the palace behind her. She ignores them and keeps going, pushes open the doors and stumbles face-first into the cold marble.

Her cheek is burning where she scraped it, but at least she knows where she is now. The path to the bridge is twisted and curls around itself, lined with marble fences that she can hold onto as she takes every painful step towards what she knows is certain death.

"SERIS!"

She's so close. She takes two more steps forwards, and wow, the mortal energy thrums at an even higher frequency here on the bridge. The only thing holding her back now is Raven's voice, desperate and pleading. "Seris, please don't jump," he begs, his footsteps thundering across the bridge.

The silk ribbon drops from her sightless eyes, and she manages a sad smile.

"I'm sorry."

Raven's screams pierce the heavens as she leans over the side of the bridge and lets herself fall, fall into nothingness, even as the last grasp of her robes slips from his fingers.

* * *

On the way down, Seris awakens as Rena once more.

Her first thought is, not surprisingly, _am I dead?_ before the cosmological thrum and the surge of power knock her unconscious.

The bridge deposits her within her own orchards, causing her to crash-land under a peach tree in full blossom. As she wakes up to sores all over body, she is only vaguely aware of birds chirping above her. They're concerned about their mistress, after all.

"Get Lord Ebalon," she groans, and that's all she manages to say before the pain puts her under once more.

* * *

"Aunt Rena, you really mustn't do things like that again," Ara tells her, dabbing away the bloody scars on her back with a clean cloth and spirits. "Queen Lilia has been dreadfully worried for you this whole time."

"She saw me in Elrianode," Rena moans, ignoring the stinging pain as tears stream shamelessly down her face. "She'll know how I've fallen. I'll never live it down."

Ara hums softly. "You never really fall out of love once you lose yourself to someone, can you," she murmurs. "Part of them stays with you for a lifetime, whether you want them to stay or not."

Rena looks at her, studies the way her smile wavers and her nose crinkles like she's holding back a sneeze. "You've fallen for someone too, haven't you," she says, and the way Ara almost flinches in response tells her all that she needs. "Someone from another realm? Elrianode, perhaps?"

"Even worse," Ara says, and Rena briefly panics, because _what could be worse than what she's going through right now?_ "You know Edward Grenore, the deity that controls the spacetime tapestry?"

In the spur of the moment, Rena can only stare at her in shock. "Yeah, I screwed up," her niece says weakly, before putting her face in her hands. "I didn't think I'd be able to move on from what happened to Steel, but… here we are, I suppose." She groans and shakes her head. "I hate it. I hate being in love."

"I know," Rena says quietly. "There's nothing we can do but move on, can we?"

"I think… This might be healthier for me, actually," Ara says, and this time it's accompanied with a small smile. "Y'know. Let me forget Steel while I can, right? I'm going to see if this new… infatuation will help me heal."

Rena purses her lips. "If it'll make you happier," she says, but her mind is already working on something else she says. "We're all just looking for happiness, in the end, aren't we?"

* * *

"I want you to make me an amnesia potion," she tells Ebalon a week later, after she's recovered in secret. "I need to forget."

Ebalon studies her with those unnaturally blue eyes of his. "Are you certain about this?" He asks.

"I can't live with the anger," Rena insists. "Not after what happened in Elrianode. I'm only going to become destructive if I remember it all."

Ebalon is silent for a while. "You loved Lord Solace for a long time," she mentions, even though she knows Ebalon will not respond. "And you made yourself forget him when he fell in love with Lady Harnier."

"I only removed my feelings for him," Ebalon says gingerly. "Would you like me to do the same for you? Make you forget your love for Raven?"

Rena shakes her head. "I don't want to lose my ability to ever love him again," she confesses. "He doesn't deserve that, no matter how much he's hurt me. I just… don't want to remember my life as Seris. So just a simple amnesia potion should do the job."

Ebalon sighs. "If that's what you wish for."

"Will there be a way to counteract it at some point in the future?" Rena asks, suddenly wary. "Will the effects fade over time?"

"My potions are strong enough to not fade over time, even for an immortal," Ebalon assures her. "However, in theory… my power can be neutralized by that of the Sun El. So if, somehow, you consumed a medication with Sun El in it, then by all means you would remember everything from your life as Seris."

Rena laughs dryly. "Guess I should steer clear of the Sun El, then."

He takes only a short walk outside Rena's home to gather all the supplies, mixing them quickly with a mortar and pestle. "One last thing before you forget," he says. "Your eyes will be very sensitive to light from now on, but future you won't know the cause. How do you want me to explain it to you?"

Rena thinks for a moment. "Tell me that I injured myself while I was fighting Sult," she decides, taking the bowl from him. "Thank you so much, Lord Ebalon. How can I repay you?"

Ebalon watches as she drinks the amnesia potion and topples over to sleep it off, and sighs. "Remember it, someday, and return to his side. That is all I ask."

* * *

 _And now, with Sun El sparkling in your bloodstream, you remember everything._

 _An immortal does not easily forget everything that has happened in a lifetime, down to each insignificant moment. Each moment, every kiss you've ever shared with Raven, every time you cooked together, it all comes flooding back._

 _Raven. Oh, your beloved Raven. You've wronged him so many times now, starting from your life as Seris and continuing on into your attempts to revive Edan. He's tried so hard this time to make you happy, to keep you happy, so that he won't lose you a second time. He must have understood your past long before you did._

 _And Rienne, your beautiful daughter, is the child you bore him but never saw, never got to meet. You hope she'll be able to forgive you for how much you've hurt her father._

 _At the end of your second life and in the prime of your third, you look bad at your failures, and realize just how much of a terrible person you really are. You abandoned your husband and your newborn daughter. You are little more than a monster, and your suffering now is the consequence of your actions._

* * *

Rena clutches her bleeding hand and cries.

* * *

She finds Owen in his study - the one he pestered Raven for, the one that Rena only allowed him to have reluctantly. "Advisor," she says, slowly, "I believe you have borrowed something of mine that you've forgotten to return to me."

Owen only quirks an eyebrow suspiciously. _Oh my goodness, he doesn't know I was Seris,_ Rena realizes. "Your majesty, I believe you are gravely mistaken. I have yet to move any of your belongings during my time here in Elysion."

"Ah, but you never took them while we were in Elysion," Rena muses, taking a seat by the window. "Dearest advisor, pray tell me, have you enjoyed using my eyes over the past hundred years or so?"

Just like that, Owen goes on lockdown entirely. "Your majesty," he says, keeping his voice calm and collected, "I'm afraid I don't understand. I - your _eyes?_ "

Rena smirks, tilting her head to the side. "Perhaps, since you've been using them for so long, you've forgotten who they belong to," she continues. "I only recently remembered your little, ah, _episode_ , and I must say, your handling of the circumstances were much less than graceful, so I'm here to retrieve what is rightfully mine."

"You," Owen stutters, "are _lying_. You cannot be Seris."

"Can I really not?" Rena whispers, casting yet another glamour about herself - the same one she used at the birthday celebrations for Lord Denif's son, the one that reminded Raven so much of _Rena herself_. Owen goes stiff. "Might I remind you that I am an elder goddess. I can take whatever form I please, mortal or otherwise.

"Besides, I was undergoing an ascension trial at the time," she drawls on. "My last one, in fact - a trial of emotion. Raven took the brunt of it for me, but goodness, you certainly were instrumental in making it difficult for us both. Do you know how _devastated_ Raven was when he had to give you my eyes? How _broken_ he sounded when he cried at my bedside that night? How his screams pierced the heavens when I jumped off the Elrianode Bridge?

"Perhaps our relationship was flawed," she snaps, "but you didn't deserve to have taken advantage of it, and you certainly don't deserve my eyes."

"And you don't deserve Prince Raven!" Owen shrieks, raising a stationery knife, but Rena is quicker. She reaches forwards with her magic, finds her own eyes, and tugs.

Her vision clears, revealing a wrinkled old man in front of her. Now she understands why Owen wanted her sight - she sees not his corporeal form, but his inner self, an old hag with a heart of stone. A monster.

But Rena is not that monster.

"All I wanted was for him to be happy," she says firmly, washing him over with magic. "And if you didn't think I was capable of it then, well, I'm more than capable of it now."

Owen gasps as Rena's magic finishes healing his eyes, his own eyes that he gouged out so many years ago. "The fact that you had the resolve to actually do the thing tells me you're not a coward," she says. "That means there's still hope for you."

* * *

The garden is colder than usual, but Rena goes to sit on the bench as she usually does when she's waiting for Raven to come home. The koi fish splash in the pond, having already been fed by Raven in the morning.

Her mind is spinning at a thousand miles per hour, as she tries to understand just what really happened. Rienne is not her stepdaughter, she is her biological daughter, and she is not a demigod but a full-fledged goddess, the daughter of two of the most powerful gods in the high heavens.

More importantly, Raven is already her husband. What does this mean for her future? How will she just be able to tell him that she's suddenly remembered their past together? How will she be able to face him, after all she's done to forget him?

* * *

 _Before you can even think of something else, a cosmic thrum echoes through the heavens, causing ear-splitting pain the moment it hits you._

 _Instantly, you jump to your feet, summoning your bow to hand. Fear fills your veins._

 _Sult has broken free._

* * *

"Raven!" Rena yells, plucking her bow and sending another arrow flying into yet another demon. "Raven, where are you?"

If he answers, she can't hear it. The roar of the incoming demons blocks everything out, and Rena is too occupied with trying to keep up her defence against the horde to seek him out with her magic.

Then, just as quickly as it began, it ends. There's an unholy screech, and the pounding headache fades. Rena watches in shock as the demons go up in black wisps of smoke and horrid screams dissolve to nothingness.

In the middle of the emptiness stands a single lone figure in black robes, calmly sheathing his sword. "Raven," Rena gasps, rushing forwards, and catching him in her arms just as he stumbles. "Oh my god, you're not hurt, are you."

"I-" He coughs weakly, before he looks at her and his eyes widen in surprise. "Rena, your eyes. You got them back."

"I did," she says, averting her eyes to the side. "I remembered."

Raven tips her chin up, so she can look him in the eye. "I'm sorry I had to take them from you in the first place," he says quietly, brushing a tear away from under her eye. "I shouldn't have broken your trust in me like that."

He loses his footing, and his knees buckle. "Raven, you're hurt," Rena realizes in horror, as she removes her hand from his back and finds it stained in his blood. _Black robes can hide the bloodstains._ "Oh my god, what did you do?"

"I went hand to hand with Sult," he says, coughing. "It's alright. It's safe now. You can live safely here, without fear of him returning anytime soon. I killed him."

"That's not important," Rena says, her voice shuddering. "Raven, you're dying. You've lost too much blood. Oh my god."

She begins to pour life into him, her own life, in an attempt to keep him going, but he cuts her off. "Don't. I won't make it." Raven coughs again, and a trickle of blood stands to leak down the side of his mouth. "Save your magic, Rena! I'm not going-"

"Raven Cronwell, Crown Prince of Elrianode," she says forcefully, continuing to pour magic into him, "if you talk like that again, one more time, I will go to Master Ebalon again and get his strongest memory elixir, and I _will_ forget you and move on."

Even though she presses onwards with her magic, she can feel Raven's life force grow weaker and weaker in her hands. "That's okay," Raven says, voice faltering. "As long as you're happy."

And then, like a tragic mirror of a hundred thousand years ago, his soul shatters into starlight.

* * *

 **A/N: haha _whoops_ i didn't think it would get that long**

 **don't worry, there will be an epilogue and a happy ending - i'm not that cruel to my characters!**

 **if you don't think that i studied the scene where bai qian demands her eyes back in great detail for rena's exchange with owen then you are unfortunately wrong**

 **also, after dissecting the drama, i have come to realize that there are so many characters and plotlines i haven't capitalized upon - ara and add as fengjiu and dijun, lu and ciel as yan zhi (the demon tribe princess) and sixteenth disciple, even ebalon and ventus as zhe yan and bai qian's brother. there are so many loose ends i have to tie up. the only conclusion i have is that i need to binge the sequel (the pillow book) and write a sequel to this fic.**

 **however, before i can write said sequel, i'm also working on a bit of a personal project - a webtoon, to be more specific. i'll post more details as i get further along. don't worry, i still have plenty of reserve chapters!**

 **~Marg**


	5. Part 5: Of Happy Endings

AND SO THE GARDEN IN MY HEART BLOSSOMS

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 5: Of Happy Endings

 _Three years later_

There's a day every year that's uniquely celebrated in Elysion. It's called the day of the Queen's Mourning, and it's the anniversary of the death of Crown Prince Raven of Elrianode.

Not many people know why this day came to be, but just from the name alone, it's pretty easy to tell. Every year, on this day, they watch as Queen Rena Erindel sheds her robes of white and pale green, and dons her black plumage.

This day, every year, she goes to her beautiful garden, with its miles and miles of trees, and stands beneath a huge peach tree. She tends to stay there for the entire day, crying dry tears at a small memorial stone at the foot of the tree.

This year is no exception. Too tired to actually change into a black dress, Rena simply dons a black shawl, wrapping it around herself. Her footsteps are heavier than usual, despite the airy silken shoes on her feet.

Rienne trails behind her slowly, clad in a simple black training suit. She takes a few days off around this day every year, so she can return home to grieve with her mother. Her fingers wrap around the handle of an imaginary sword, longing to cross it against that of her father.

It took a long time for her to trust Rena again after Raven's death. Like Rena did, a hundred thousand years ago, Rienne throws herself into training in her grief. The fact that Rena is, in fact, her biological mother, helps slightly - they reconcile after the first anniversary, over training. Now, they lean on each other much more often for moral support.

Owen has been dismissed by the great Heavenly King himself, sentenced to never reincarnate as an immortal ever again. He pleads and begs again and again, begging Rena for the same mercy she showed him when she gave him his eyes back, but the Heavenly King will have none of it. Owen, as it seems, had a job to watch over the vessel of Sult, and since he has failed to prevent Sult's reawakening, it caused Raven's death, for which the Heavenly King cannot pardon.

Rena doesn't admit it, but her heart twinges with sadistic satisfaction when she sees him, shackled and beaten, before he is burnt to nothing as part of his punishment.

After Aisha persuades her, Rena hires Elsword as the new advisor to the Elysion throne. He's completed his time working with Lady Harnier, and now comes to Elysion to spar with Rienne whenever she comes home and occasionally stop to surprise Aisha with kisses. It's a bittersweet feeling, one that gives Rena shivers down her spine.

Ara has left Elysion behind for the time being, taking a shot at a mortal incarnation. Perhaps she'll relearn how painful love is the hard way. Rena doesn't have much hope for her, but she knows her niece is determined to fight for the love that motivates her. She hopes someday Ara will have her own tales to tell about the glory of love in her mortal life, and the struggles she's gone through.

Everything has changed. Rienne still trains under Elesis, at the new school she's built for the younger kids. Elesis runs the school with the pretty young Grecian fire goddess, Rose, who sometimes brings Rienne back from training. Edan occasionally pops in, mostly when Rena needs support, and always brings news of where his brother's soul is going.

Rena doesn't really care about anything else anymore. She just wants her husband back, so they can raise their daughter together in happiness.

"Mother, who is that?"

Rena snaps back to attention. "Who?" She asks, as Rienne's small finger points towards a figure clothed in black under the peach tree.

And then the figure turns around, and Rena is frozen in time as Rienne screams in joy and barrels forwards into the arms of her father, nearly knocking him over with the sheer force. "Woah, woah, woah!" Raven laughs, hoisting her up over his head. "You've grown so much, Rienne!"

There's now a permanent streak of white left in Raven's hair, but it does nothing to change the smile on his face and the everlasting love in his eyes. His laughter fades to simply a kind smile as he turns to Rena, and she feels her chest buckle under the pressure.

"You're back," she says quietly.

"So I am," Raven says. "And you haven't forgotten."

"How could I forget?" Rena says, approaching him almost cautiously. "It's difficult to forget those that you love."

Raven laughs out loud again, and then Rena finds herself laughing with him between her tears, and he pulls her into his embrace and kisses her (much to Rienne's discomfort).

"I'm home, Rena," Raven says, and she relishes in the fact that her family is whole again.

 _This is what I've wanted, all along._

* * *

 **A/N: i couldn't just let raven stay dead, i mean ye hua comes back to life so why can't he**

 **also today's a double update since i wanted to finish this fic but i got a request for the next chapter of WtWE, so please go check that out as well!**

 **thank you for reading _And So The Garden In My Heart Blossoms_ , and i hope i can continue to produce enjoyable content with the sequel!**

 **~Marg**


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